Consuming Madness
by Ash The Wanderer
Summary: A new enemy has emerged from another world to brutalize the DBZ World, a lunatic woman for whom death holds no fear and whose thirst for blood, death, and destruction cannot be sated. And the Z warriors will relearn the meaning of evil...
1. The First Cut Is The Deepest

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Consuming Madness

Chapter 1
    
    A lovely day should not signal the beginning of an upcoming Armageddon, but nothing works the way people think it should work, and for some odd reason, most are glad of it.

Besides, nothing should have suggested an Apocolyspe worthy of the Four Horsemen, and after all she had seen in her life, Bulma was good at noticing when something bad was going to happen.
    
    It had all began when she had set out to find the Dragon Balls so she would have something to do for the summer, not to mention the most perfect boyfriend in existence. Who would have thought that the life she had led could have been set in motion just by meeting a little boy?

But that had been no normal little boy. That had been Son Goku. From her meeting of him had come dozens of adventures, on earth and beyond. She had seen beings that had the power to crush solar systems with the waves of their hands. The cold arrogance of Vegeta (when she thought about it, it seemed funny she had ended up with him), the dark evil of Freiza, the single-minded purposeness of the Andriods and Cell, and the destructive insanity of the creature called Majinn Buu.

But she had also met good people, friends, people who would stand up for those who could not fight themselves. And always leading the charge was Son Goku, with his goofy smile and eternal cluelessness. Until the fighting started, and then he became dead serious. Fighting was Son Goku's life, and to find a lifelong joy in the same thing was something that amazed Bulma, even more so that all the death and destruction he had seen and caused had not hardened his gentle heart, eternally loyal and loving to those he cared about. Hell, he even loved her husband Vegeta in his own way, in the love of having a great rival, despite the fact that Vegeta couldn't stand him.

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Well, I don't see why it drives him on. He's obtained Super Saiyan Level Three as well. Yet he keeps training, swearing he will one day best Goku in an all out fight. I don't know about that, but I'll love him all the same.

Yes, despite all their differences, all their fights, all of Vegeta's maddening quirks, she loved him, truly and deeply. It had been a slow love, a seemingly impossible love, and if the Future version of her son had told her when they had first met, she would have died laughing at the sheer absurdity of it. But in the wake of her betrayal by Yamcha, it had begun. Indeed, as she looked at Trunks now, proud and grown up in a world where he still had his father and friends, it seemed so right.

"Mamma!"

Bulma was snapped out of her mental wanderings by the call of a little girl. A call she knew all too well.

"Mamma! Can I have some money for ice cream?" Bra said, bouncing up to Bulma. The little girl was still young at age ten, but Bulma's looks were starting to shine through. Indeed, despite being over 50, Bulma still had her beauty. She certainly didn't look her age, as Vegeta might have said, although he would have then followed up with something that would give her cause to playfully hit him (like it would hurt). Bra would grow up with looks that would have boys tripping over themselves to get at her, and with what her father had taught her, Bulma was sure she would find her prince. Although she looked frail, Bra didn't take any crap, and if any boy tried to give her any, she would show her displeasure. Bulma remembered when Ubuu had jokingly called her a shrimp. Later, when she was treating him, Bulma was amazed that a boot print could actually be imprinted on a man's buttocks.

"Come on Mamma! They have Tutti-Frutti in the first time in forever! Please please please!" Bra said, jumping up and down.

Bulma sighed as she gave in.

"Ok, but don't tell your father. He'll get mad you're eating that fattening food and make you do a hundred pushups again." Bulam said as she handed Bra some cash.

"Ah, no problem! I can do a hundred pushups easily. I can even do them standing on my hands!" Bra chirped as she spun and danced off to the ice cream cart. Bulma sighed again and leaned back. After she got the ice cream, Bra would most likely head off to the woods that were dotted around the park to eat it. She wasn't afraid of leaving Bra alone, anyone who had hostile intent towards a little girl would swiftly find themselves on a one-way trip to the moon.

Bulma leaned back and closed her eyes, deciding that maybe she could use a short nap…

As Bulma napped and Bra bought her ice cream, a section of woods suddenly went dead quiet.

Then out of nowhere, a hole suddenly ripped in the air, as is the reality of the world had suddenly become a piece of cheap cloth. Beyond the hole, if someone had been standing beside it and listening, came the sounds of yells and screams, a male and a female.

Then the crackling increased, so much that anyone listening would have never heard the scream of "DIE, YOU BITCH!" emit from the hole.

There was silence, except for the crackling.

And then the hole swelled and suddenly she was spat out like a bad piece of food. Throw out with force, she went tumbling along the grass and dead leaves, smacking dead-on into the trunk of a giant oak tree. The tree shuddered.

Silently, the hole suddenly slid shut and sealed. It had taken perhaps fifteen seconds for the whole spectacle to happen. Slowly, the figure that had been tossed out of the rip began to twitch.

Bloody fingers suddenly reared up and dug into the ground as the woman reared up on her hands and knees, her hair a bloody mess. Slowly, she raised her face up.

If anyone had been watching, they would have run away screaming like the demons of hell were on them. The woman's face was a pulverized mess, sharp daggers of bone poking from a mess of pureed muscle and tissue. One eye dangled from its socket, the other was crushed to pulp. The nose was gone, torn right off the face, and the jaw dangled by one shred of muscle. Blood dripped in a steady rain from the ruin of the face.

The woman made a noise deep in her throat, but it was not a noise of whimpering pain as one might have expected.

Rather, it might have been a noise she might have made if she was making love, a deep-throated growl of pleasure.

And then, suddenly, the face began to rebuild itself. The eye slithered back in and popped itself back into a fixed orbital bone, as it's brother suddenly stretched out and healed. A mass of tissue erupted from the hole where the nose had been as the bone shards shuddered and retracted back from the cheeks as they too began to twist back into their natural shape. A tentacle of black energy suddenly erupted from the ruined jaw and swung it back into place as pink muscle erupted and grabbed it. Slowly, the black energy slid over the entire face like living oil.

Then it suddenly shattered, and any observer that had not run away like a sane person would have been amazed. There wasn't a single injury to the woman's face, not even the slightest hint of a scar. All the damage was gone, swept away.

The whole process had taken less then a second, almost instantaneous.

Slowly, the woman raised herself to her feet. She wore a skintight outfit of coloured purple and blood red so strong it almost looked like it was throbbing. The outfit was torn all over, cuts that looked like they had been made with edged weapons, bullets, and god knows what else. The woman had long red hair that also had black streaks running through it. They slithered like snakes.

Slowly, the mystery Medusa raised her arms to pull her hair back, and suddenly her outfit was whole and complete. It happened instantly, one second being torn to shreds and the next being whole and clean, almost like an afterthought.

The woman was trim and muscular, and as her face was revealed, she would also have been called beautiful. She had a very sensual mouth and cheeks, which matched her body. Any man looking at her who have instantly had blood rush to a certain part of his body.

Until you saw her eyes.

Like twin pools of pure darkness, the woman's eyes were devoid of any emotion or humanity whatsoever. All that burned in them was a horrible, mind-numbing _lust_.

The air remained silent, the prescence of this woman scaring everything to perfect quiet. Something radiated from her, something that was beyond cold and beyond hot, something that reached into your body and sent daggers of fear stabbing into your heart, a terrible fear and overwhelming desire to flee before you saw anything else, saw what lurked behind those terrible eyes.

The woman blinked.

"Where…am…I…?"

Then a twig snapped, and the woman with the soul-shredding eyes turned to the noise. She was a few feet off a beaten path in some kind of woods, and along that path was skipping a little girl eating an ice cream, a little girl with purple hair and a sweet face.

The woman smiled, a twisted lopsided grin, as her eyes lit up in terrifying delight.

"Who cares?"

As Bra skipped along, she suddenly felt a grip of steel seize her arm. Before she could do anything she was yanked off the path. Bra opened her mouth as she planned to do two things. First she was going to scream, and then she was going to stick her foot up whoever had grabbed her's nose. 

Then she saw her, and Bra's scream died in her throat. Her ice cream fell from suddenly numb fingers as she looked in sheer terror at the woman. The woman was smiling, but something was eminating from that smile, something so malicious and corrupting and _evil _that Bra couldn't do anything. She felt a slight warmth as she wet herself.

"Hello, little girl."

Bra's screams slammed the sleep from Bulma's mind like a sledgehammer.

"BRA!" she herself screamed as she leapt to her feet, but she had only started to take a step when her legs tangled in the strap of her purse and she fell. Leaving the purse, she clawed at the ground to get to her feet, yanking up strips of sod and ripping more then half of her well-manicured nails off. Despite being in high heels, Bulma put Olympic runners to shame as she sprinted across the park to the forest where the screams came from, her mind afire with thoughts. _Oh god why did I leave her alone oh kami kami it's my fault let her be all right oh kami Dende please please please…_

The screams had stopped as Bulma broke through the forest woods. She didn't know where to look but when she saw other people gathering around a spot she headed there.

Then she saw the blood on the ground and her gait slowed along with her heart as her inner temperature plunged down to absolute zero.

"Bra?" Bulma said in a low, high-pitched squeek that sounded more like a mouse then a human.

The crowd parted, and a man stepped through them, walking backwards, his hands out in front of him as if he was trying to ward something off.

"Oh god…oh Jesus…oh Jesus god…." He stammered in horror as he backed away. Bulma took advantage to break through the crowd to see what the man had seen.

Her eyes fixed on it.

And then the forest was shattered with new screams. This time, they were Bulma's.

Some time later, the crowd of onlookers had swelled greatly, as police and ambulances milled about, the police speaking to people and trying to figure out how something so awful could happen on a spring morning.

No one noticed the sudden bright light emitting from another forest, no heard the same crackling that had permitted the forest they had all stared at just an hour before, and no one saw the figure step from the forest.

This man wore black, a black so deep it looked like he had torn the night away and now wore it on his back. His hair was the same black. He was a large man, over 250 pounds, all of it muscle. He had a handsome face, which was only marred by one thing. A twisted scar ran along his face, cutting over his right eye and then cutting back towards his far-right temple to form the letter V. No one noticed his odd dress, or his purposeful run, indeed no one noticed him until he grabbed a random bystander, and even then only the grabee noticed it.

"What happened? What's going on?" the man in black asked.

The man in black had grabbed a teenager who was growing close to adulthood. His face was pitted with the remains of acne, and the shirt he wore was so old that the man had almost torn it from his gentle (for him) grab. The boy's face showed sudden fear, but it faded. Despite his odd appearance, the man didn't look hostile.

"Oh god, didn't you hear already? It's all over the park…"

"JUST TELL ME!" the man in black yelled, shaking the boy.

"Oh god…some…lunatic caught a little girl in that forest…he tore her to pieces…god, it was like a wild animal attack…and it would have been judged so but…the killer…he…"

"He…? What did "he" do?" the man in black asked in dread.

"He…took her…heart…"

Silently, the man in black let the boy go, and unnerved by his behavior, the boy made a polite but quick escape. No one noticed the man again as he drifted away, almost in shock.

And over the noise of the scene, no one heard or saw him rise his head to the heavens and scream.

"AGONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And elsewhere, far away, the woman with the eyes of a demon known as Agony sat on a rock, covered with blood that wasn't hers and loving it.

"Little girls." She crooned to herself, in a state of complete bliss. "So pure, so innocent…"

Slowly, Agony raised Bra's heart to her face and took a large bite, savouring the organ like the tastiest apple. She chewed slowly and swallowed, a smile on her face.

"So sweet."

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To be Continued


	2. See No Evil

Chapter 2
    
    Had it been another day, the nurse might have laughed at the man. The combination of his rather short height and his incredibly tall hair made him a humourous picture. But two things stopped her.

One was the look of absolute sheer rage on his face.

And the second was that he swiftly reached forward and grabbed her shirt, yanking her forward so that they were face to face.

"WHERE IS SHE!?!?!?!??!" he screamed, his voice so full of fury it almost sprayed on her face like his saliva. Her heart lurched in terror, the man sounded angry enough to kill.

"Who…?" the nurse managed to squeek out from Vegeta's grip.

"BULMA BRIEFS! TELL ME RIGHT NOW OR I'LL GIVE YOU A ONE ON ONE MEETING WITH EMMA!" Vegeta screamed. Despite her lack of air, the nurse managed to raise a hand and point.

"Down that way…Room 34…"

Vegeta hurled the nurse aside. Then in something that even amazed her further, his hair colour _changed_. It went from raw black to a crackling, furious gold. As her mouth dropped open, Vegeta topped that surprise by rising off the ground and flying down the hallway so fast the windshear knocked everyone and everything over.

He was in the room within a second. He took it all in in less time.

His wife was lying, propped up on the bed, and his son Trunks, having beat him there, was rising from her bedside to greet his father.

"Toussan…" he began.

Then Trunks was himself hurled aside as Vegeta pushed him away and ran to the seat where his son had been sitting.

Then all of a sudden, the hair colour faded, and the aura of violence and soon-to-explode fury faded away.

"Bulma…sweetie…?" Vegeta said in a voice so soft, so low, so sad, so _non-angry_ that Trunks was utterly amazed at his father. He had never seen his father like this. His father was always tough, always angry, always grinning and in control. The Vegeta who sat before him was something else.

And despite the change, Bulma didn't notice it either. She lay, unmoving. Her eyes didn't move at all, only her eyelids to occasionally blink. Besides that, she was dead to the world.

"Bulma?" Vegeta asked in an even calmer voice, waving his hand in front of her face. She didn't respond. "Blue Locks?"

"Father…" Vegeta heard his son say, and he briefly turned away from his wife to look at him.

"She's catatonic." He heard Trunks say. He didn't understand and his faced showed it. Drawing closer, Trunks kneeled by his father's side.

"When she saw…sis…" Trunks said, his voice cracking. "Her mind…shut down. She's gone. The doctors say the shock was so great…she may never come back."

Vegeta lowered his head. In the same day, in the same _hour_, he had lost his mate and his princess. His sweet little princess…

Then the violence came exploding back as Vegeta's hair blasted into the gold of the Super Saiya-jin and continued into the spikes of Super Saiya-jin Level Two. Reaching up, he grabbed the chair and hurled it against the wall so hard it shattered like glass.

"WHO DID THIS!?!?!??!?!?!??" he roared. "I'LL TEAR DOWN THIS COUNTRY TO FIND HIM, EVEN IF I HAVE TO RAZE IT TO THE GROUND, BLOCK BY BLOCK!"

"Toussan!" Trunks said, trying to restrain his father. The floor began to crack under the furious saiya-jin and the whole hospital shook as if under assault by heavy fire. But it wasn't heavy fire but the waves of force that was emitting from the beyond mad saiya-jin. Trunks's hair flared up as he went SSJ, but it wasn't enough to restrain his father, and Vegeta began to head towards the door, dragging his son.

"Toussan!" He yelled. "Calm down! Bra hasn't died before, we can wish her back with the Dragon Balls! We can wish Mom back too if we have to! Calm down! CALM DOWN!"

"FUCK CALM!!!!!!!!!" Vegeta screamed as he walked out the door dragging his son. "NO ONE COMMITS SUCH A CRIME AS TAKING A MATE, ESPECIALLY NOT THE ONE OF THE PRINCE OF THE SAIYA-JINS! THIS EARTH WILL BURN TO ASHES IF I HAVE TO DO THAT TO REPAIR MY AND BULMA'S HONOUR!"

Then suddenly another pair of arms seized around Vegeta, actually stopping him from moving. Vegeta struggled like mad before looking at his captor. His teeth ground. Holding him was Son Goku, the usual goofy look on his face now replaced with dead seriousness.  
"Vegeta, do as your son says and CALM DOWN! Your rage won't help anyone!" Goku yelled.

"FUCK OFF, KAKAROTTO! STAY OUT OF THIS! I'LL…"

Then a fifth hand inserted itself in between the four holding Vegeta with a long syringe and jammed it into Vegeta's neck. Vegeta made a short noise of pain and then his eyes rolled up into his head as he passed out. His body went limp into Goku and Trunks's hands, and they gently laid him onto the ground.

"Sorry. He was so raging mad that nothing you said would have calmed him down, so I prepared a tranquilizer. Hopefully he'll listen when he wakes up." Son Gohan said, adjusting his glasses.

"Thank you, Gohan." Trunks said.

"Yeah, th-IIIIIIIIYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! A NEEDLE!!!!!!!!!" Goku shrieked as he leapt into Trunks's arms. Goku had been too busy trying to hold Vegeta to notice the needle, but now he had and he had swiftly panicked, even if it hadn't been planned for him. Gohan sighed and chucked the needle away, and as Goku climbed out of Trunks's arms, Gohan approached, wrapping his arms around Trunks in a sign of mutual mourning.

"Trunks…I'm so sorry…" Gohan said. No longer distracted by his father, Trunks freely let the tears of grief flow down his cheeks that had been flowing just seconds before he had heard his father coming.

"What kind of lunatic would do that to a little girl? To my little sister…?" Trunks managed to get out before he broke down in sobs on Gohan's shoulder. Goku, not sure what to do, patted Trunks on the back comfortingly. Down the hall, the mohawked fighter known as Ubuu watched, not knowing the people well enough to mourn with them but feeling sad for the daughter of the man his teacher regarded as his greatest rival.

Trunks cried for a long time, as Son Goku went back to his student Ubuu after dragging Vegeta and putting him in the nearest bed. Eventually, Trunks cried himself to sleep, and Gohan let him gently down on the bench where they had sat and headed to speak with his father.

"Are you sure that tranquilizer will hold Vegeta for long?" Ubuu asked his teacher's son.

"It was at a concentration that it would flatten a herd of elephants, so I think it will hold him. I _think._" Gohan said. "Toussan, who would do this?"

"I don't know. Bra could handle any normal kidnapper. It would take someone with a great ki to overcome and… I can't sense any great ki like that. I would notice it, such ki would emit such evil…and I don't sense anything." Goku said. He looked so helpless, and with Goku, that was not a normal look.

"Toussan!" came a little girl's voice, and Son Gohan turned to see his young daughter Pan heading towards him. He kneeled and swept her up in his arms.

"Is it true? Is Bra…" Pan began, but she couldn't finish. Not able to find the words, Gohan nodded, a lump in his throat. Pan looked like she wanted to cry too, but she was more successful then Trunks in restraining herself.  
"But why…who would want Bra-chan to die? IT'S NOT FAIR!" Pan yelled, startling the whole corridor. The looks on the three male's faces echoed Pan's scream, and even with the weary knowledge of life and death they all had in their eyes from their lives, they didn't think it was right either.

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SON GOKU!

Goku jumped in surprise until he realized it was Kaiou-sama, speaking with him telepathically.

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King Kai! I mean Kaiou-sama! What is it?

First of all, I don't really mind if you call me King Kai, and second, I think you had better turn on the nearest radio!

"Um, turn on the nearest radio!" Goku said. Confused, Ubuu pulled out a small pocket radio and turned it on. Soft violin music floated out.

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I meant to a news station, Goku!

"Oh!" Goku said. "News station!"

Ubuu turned the dial and a stern female voice came out.

"This just in. There have been a string of strange automobile fatalities running along several roads in the Ouska region…"

"Ouska region? Isn't that near the spot where they found…." Ubuu trailed off.

"Yeah. Excuse me guys, I think the Great Saiyaman needs to pay the police a visit." Gohan said, putting down his daughter and running down the hallway. Ubuu leaned over to Goku and began to speak to him in whispers, trying to figure out the horrible mystery of Bra's death.

"Grandpa Goku?" Pan said from down the hall. "Why are Uncle Trunks's eyes so red?"

Before Goku could answer, a doctor approached him.

"Excuse me, are you friends of the patient?"

"Patient? Oh, you mean Bulma? Yeah, I've known her since I was a kid!" Goku said.

"Then do you know the deceased?"

"Uhhhhhh…" Goku said, scratching his head and wondering what the doctor meant.

"He means did you know Bra, sensei!" Ubuu whispered. Goku understood and nodded.

"Ok. I'm sorry to ask you this, but there's a technicality that someone has to examine the body to absolutely make sure that the deceased is positively identified. I was wondering…"

Goku began to turn green.

"I'll do it."

Goku and Ubuu turned to see Vegeta, standing behind them, arms crossed and eyes downcast.

"Who are you, sir?"

"I was her father."

Son Gohan sat on a rock, holding his sunglasses in one hand. They dangled from his fingers, while his thumb was pressed against his forehead, which had broken out in a cold sweat.

The newspeople had been fed somewhat false stories. What they hadn't been told was that the fatalities on the roads had not been caused by car accidents, but by murder. Horrible, inhuman murders. The police had shown Gohan some photos take at the scene. Gohan had promptly lost his lunch.

The people hadn't just been killed, they had been _butchered, _tore to pieces slowly. The study of the wounds had shown that they had managed to stay alive for most of the treatments, somehow. Most of their vocal cords were swollen to the point where they would have shut down, the victims had screamed so much. The cars had been torn apart, but not by looters. They had been torn apart so that their parts could be used in the murders.

Gohan shivered. Never in his life had ever seen such sickening slaughter. Even with all the foes he had faced, their innocent victims had usually died instantly, never knowing what hit them. Not this people. Their bodies had been shredded as if someone had been hunting for their soul to devour.

But that wasn't the only thing devoured. All their hearts were missing too.

The shivering increased, and Gohan stood up. The police couldn't see a pattern. The doer had, or _was_ apparently just walking along killing whatever caught his eye.

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What kind of person could delight in such brutality?

Gohan didn't know, but whatever had been human in Agony had ceased to exist long ago. Indeed, her eyes glittered with delight as she walked along, swallowing the last of the flesh she had stolen from her prey.

"Thank heaven…for little girls…and boys too…although teenagers aren't that bad either…" Agony sang in a low voice that nearly froze the air. She lifted up her hand and licked drying blood from it, the salt taste making her eyes roll up. Although delightful, it would never compare to the pain. And the screams.

The woods began to thin again, and Agony's eyes widened slightly. Another road?

Then as she walked from the woods, her mouth widened into a horrifically evil smile as she saw all the children playing in the back yard of the house the woods thinned out to. It was a birthday party.

"Oh yeah." Agony whispered as she licked blood from her lips.

The blond woman emerged from the door and spoke with the nurse. She was a gorgeous girl, slim, athelic, and with whispery blonde hair that gave the suggestion of a nympth. She smiled in return for the information and started walking down the hall. A male janitor leered at her and she gave him such an icy look in return the man swiftly turned tail and headed off to some other work he had to do.

Marron snorted. For too many years men had been stripping her with their eyes and imagining with their brains about her spreading their legs and begging for them. The only thing she was gonna use those legs for was to crack their skulls if they kept it up.

Marron sighed. Although she didn't know Bulma well, she decided seeing her father's friend might give her time to think things over.

Or more precisely, one thing over. Her and Goten.

Marron was nineteen and growing close to twenty. Goten was twenty-two. They had been dating for two and a half years now, and although they were happy, Marron wanted something else. She wanted commitment, something that would let her know he would always be there for her as he whispered in her ear under the stars. Unlike other men, Goten wasn't saying that just to get into her pants. He meant it.

But apparently all the commitment genes had gone to Goten's older brother, Gohan. Gohan, although Goten called him a nerd, had a steady job and a source of income. Goten prefered to laze around and mooch off his parents in between his training sessions. He had slacked off his fighting for a bit, but had picked it up again, and that was the only thing he was seriously commited to. That and his guitar. Goten went through hobbies like it was going out of style, but he'd been learning the guitar for four years now. It had been a heavy part in his romancing of her, and in truth she loved to curl up to him as he strummed along and crooned his love to her. Sweet, but she wanted something more.

Was she being selfish? Or was she being smart? Her girlfriends said if she asked for commitment, Goten would drop her like a bag of potatoes. Her father and mother said they knew the Son line better then her friends did and that while Goten might have been a slacker, he had the honour of his father. Her father swore for Goten particularily, since he had fought beside Goten a lot back when Goten was younger. When she was a kid she loved to hear those tales, as her father and future lover squared off against the threats of Bio Brolly and Majinn Buu.

She would think it over. It didn't have to be much. Just something that would let her know he would always be there for her.

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Always. His voice whispered in her ear mentally. She blushed and turned into Bulma's room.

"Pan-chan." She said solumnly to the little girl who sat beside the bed. Then she noticed Pan's mother. "Videl-chan! Has there been any change?" she asked.

Videl shook her head, as Pan stared sadly at the comotose form of Bulma.

"We can only wait. Gohan has gone to try and get to the bottom of this. So we can only wait, and pray." Videl said.

Elsewhere, oblivious to the horrific happenings of the morning, the questioning period his girlfriend was going through, and the demon walking straight towards him, Son Goten danced on the bridge. He had come out here to go fishing, but the waves in the river below the bridge were too rough for fish to be looking for food, so he turned it into something he could do: a jam session on his electric guitar. The riffs pummeled the surrounding woods as he danced on the railing.

"OOOWWWWW! You put the petal to the metal and baby oh yessiree…you'll be burning, to the _nth_ degree! Man I am Son Goten! I sure ain't any fool! Cause the rocket's in my pocket and I'm waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy past cool!" Goten sang, his dance steps causing the wooden bridge to shudder. His fishing pole shook and finally fell down. Since it didn't fall into the water, Goten ignored it. It was heavy enough so that the constant waves washing over the bridge floor wouldn't sweep it away. He switched tunes and began playing a new song to the tune of "Devil in a Blue Dress."

"I know I'm strong, who is coming next, with my golden hair, and my 20 inch pecs! Going Super Saiyan, Saiyan, Saiyan, going Super Saiyan, oh YEAH! Going Super Saiyan…."

Completely caught up in his song, Goten started to literally dance on the air, higher and higher, until he was swooping around the clouds and the song was only heard by high-flying birds.

Slowly, Agony walked out onto the bridge. She could have sworn she had heard an electric guitar playing earlier. Her face slick with blood and chunks of flesh, she looked around, her eyes noticing the fishing pole. Maybe she would hang around and wait for the owner to come back…

The water washed over her feet, and she looked down. Her boots were now clean. She made a small noise of irritation. The river looked rough and the waves could come higher and splash her, cleaning the blood off her. She didn't want that.

"Hmmmm. Oh well." Agony said, and walked on, feasting on the fresh young hearts she had just taken.

By the time Son Goten came down, the blood left in her wake had long been washed away by the uneasy river, and Goten packed up, heading for home.

Vegeta sat in a chair outside the morgue, his face in his hands, trying to come to grips with what he had seen. After all he had endured, he thought nothing could shock him.

But after the attendant, even after warning him, had pulled away the sheet, his knees had nearly given out on him. His daughter's face, once so beautiful, was now a torn, shredded mess, half of it so destroyed Vegeta could see the skull. Only through her hair, and through a birthmark on the side of her neck, had Vegeta been able to tell it was Bra. Her face was damaged beyond recognition.

Vegeta raised his head up. Bra was the most famous little girl in the city, a member of the giant Capsule Corperation. If they had wanted to prevent identification, they would have had to do a much better job then they had done.

They hadn't destroyed his daughter's face so they wouldn't know who she was.

They'd done it for the sheer hell of it.

Slowly, the rage began to return, hotter and more dangerous then ever. He wouldn't raze the city, but he would find who had done this, even if it took eternity, and when he did, he would give the person a death so horrible that…

His eyes caught a dart of movement.

Turning, he looked at the morgue. Had the door just completed the process of swinging shut?

Slowly, Vegeta stood and walked to the door, shoving it open.

He walked in. A second before he looked away, he saw that his daughter's body had been uncovered. When he'd left it had been covered.

He turned.

And saw the man in black just for a half a second before something was jammed into the side of his neck. Vegeta felt a discharge and his skin blister as someone zapped a huge amount of electricity into the side of his neck.

Had he been human, he could have been knocked right out. But he was a saiya-jin, and it barely even annoyed him.

In shock, the man in black stepped back. Vegeta took him in. Tall, muscular, and for a human, an incredible ki. But nowhere near _his_ base level.

Then he saw something. The black clothing concealed it well, but the man's pants and outfit was covered with a brownish-red substance that could have been paint.

"How…that was 50,000 volts!" the man in black was saying.

Or…

…Dried blood.

Vegeta had a vague rememberance of watching a crime movie one night and hearing how serial killers like to return to the scene of the crime…

…or to their victims.

Then every single coherent thought Vegeta had was slammed away by a tidal wave of rage as he made his conclusion.

"YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER!"

Vegeta reached out and grabbed the man. The man in black's eyes widened and he tried to dodge away. He almost made it, he was that quick. But Vegeta's hands still seized him before effortlessly throwing him across the whole morgue.

Vegeta hair's exploded as he went SSJ2. If he could have seen the man in black's eyes as he was getting to his feet (rather quickly after suffering such a blow), he would have seen in them the fact that the man in black was reaching the same conclusion Vegeta had.

"No…" he began.

But he didn't get a chance to say anything else as Vegeta was suddenly right in his face, seizing his neck in a death grip.

"Oh don't worry about strangulation. That would be too quick. Instead, I'm going to tear you to pieces like way you did my princess, except I'm going to do it _cell by cell."_ Vegeta hissed in such incredible fury it smacked the man in black in the face like a physical blow.

The man in black reached up and slammed his right fist into the side of Vegeta's head even as he tried to get the air to form words. Vegeta didn't even flinch as he reached up to grab the limb, planning to start there.

Then Vegeta felt another jolt and his mind was suddenly on fire. He screamed and let go temporarily from the pain, but despite the agony in his head he quickly reached forward to grab the man in black again. The man in black reached out and jammed his right fingers into Vegeta's neck, and the pain came back, even greater then before. But he kept coming, as the man continued to zap him again and again with whatever power he was using, not going to let him escape…

But even Vegeta's superhuman body could only take so much, and he finally fell into darkness, cursing all the way down and swearing that he would find this man who took his princess from him…

And just as he was swallowed by the blackness, he heard the man in black speak two words.

"I'm sorry."

The man in black stared at the body sprawled in front of him. The man had been so short that he had assumed just one taser zap would take him down. He didn't want to do it, but he doubted the man, the victim's father, as it turned out, would just let him take what he needed from his daughter's body, no matter how innocent and necessary it was.

But the man had been inhuman, shrugging it off like it was nothing at all, and then somehow grabbing him and throwing him across the room. Clearly he was no ordinary man. Perhaps he had been an experiment, like him…?

The man in black raised his right arm, and if Vegeta was awake, he could have seen why it had somehow been zapping him. The arm was metal, a cyborg limb, from which small extentions extended from the metal fingers. The man in black had deduced that from the blood on him, the father had guessed that _he_ was the killer, come back to do some sick thing to the body of his daughter, and he had snapped and tried to kill him. And for some reason, he had appeared to put on a gold wig to do it…

The man in black glanced down at Vegeta again and started. The gold hair was gone. The hair was back to the normal black. He blinked and wondered what the hell was going on.

He glanced at his metal arm again. The man's inhuman strength has made him panic (which was not an easy thing to do) and go straight to the absolute full power of his taser. And even then, he'd had to zap him seventeen times. At 10,000,000 volts each time. If he was that tough, the man in black doubted the voltage would keep him down long. He also doubted that if he stuck around the father would listen that the blood on him wasn't his child's blood, but rather the blood of the woman who had killed her…

…if it was who he thought it was. He had to be sure.

Crossing the room, the man in black looked down on the face on the little girl. His heart sank. This girl had been destined to grow to be a beauty, but now she would never grow up…

…all because of Agony.

His teeth grinding, the man carefully fixed his metal hand over Bra's one remaining eye and began to scan. Whatever Bra had seen last, it would be preserved in her retina. If it was a certain female face he was all too familiar with…

The scan completed. Raising his hand, the man in black slid open a panel on his metal arm and began to tap keys there. A small camera emerged, ready to project an image.

The man in black hesitated, then pushed the button.

The image projected out, in full 3-D the last thing Bra had seen.

The man in black's face darkened with rage. It was her. The streaked hair. The shockingly lovely face. And the eyes. The eyes that shouldn't have existed, but still did no matter how many times the man in black had torn them out.

"Agony." He hissed.

Then his rage faded as he looked at the body of Bra again. Slowly, he kneeled beside her and took her hand. 

"I'm sorry." He said, his voice cracking with sorrow. "This is all my fault and I'm so, so sorry I inflicted this apon you, little girl. Oh god please forgive me for failing you…just like I failed…them…but I will avenge you, if it means my life, my soul, anything."

Vegeta began to stir, and the man in black looked over to him. He would be waking up soon. He had to be going, but as he stood he kept looking.

"I'm sorry too sir. I didn't want to hurt you…god I didn't. Forgive me, if you can…but I will avenge you and your daughter…"

The sorrow vanished as a rage that rivaled Vegeta's flashed onto his face, and he snapped up his metal hand as razor sharp two-foot talons snapped out, the light dancing on them as they sang to be used.

"I inflicted Agony apon your world, and Vengeance will remove her."

Agony was bored. She was getting tired of ripping up squirrals and smashing deer to death with rocks. She wanted something that could understand pain more and scream far more exquisitingly, like that little girl had when she had melted her eyes with her own birthday candles. The pain had been pure and the terror had been utter bliss.

Then she saw it. A campsite that looked like it had been recently set up. And a young woman, with black hair and sweet innocent eyes, sitting by a river, doing laundry.

And no one would hear her scream this deep in the woods.

Lunch continued to wash clothes, unaware of the walking hell head right at her.

Vengeance left the morgue, heading for the nurse's office. He emerged with the radio, twisting the dials and trying to find the right station.

"…I did it again…my life…Shady please stand up…." The radio went before Vengeance found the same stern female voice Goku and co had heard earlier.

"This just in. There was been a horrific massacre at a house where couple named the Totsons where celebrating the birthday of their little girl…Jane Goguy has the story…Jane?"

"Yes I'm here…Tanya…the backyard…OH GOD!" the reporter said, finally giving up any sense of control she could have had. As Erik heard vomiting from the radio, he lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut, a single tear trickling from his left eye.

"Oh no………."

Lunch stared in sheer terror at the woman, trying to crabwalk away as Agony approached her, a horrific grin on her face and pearls of pleasure dancing in her eyes.

In her fear, she sneezed.

Agony halted as the black haired girl vanished to be replaced a blonde-haired girl.

"The hell?"

Then Ranchi leapt to her feet, twin uzis in her hands.

"Hey fuckface! I've got something you can snack on: LEAD!"

And then Ranchi let loose, spraying Agony with machine-gun bullets. Agony was thrown into a jerking dance as bullets slammed through every part of her, riddling her body before she collapsed on the ground.

"Arnold, eat your heart out." Ranchi quipped as she blew smoke from the barrels.

Then Agony flipped to her feet.

Ranchi's jaw hit the floor. The woman had over a hundred bullet holes through her and she was still standing. No, she looked _happy._

"Pain…sweet pain…." Agony crooned.

Panicking, Ranchi raised the Uzis and let loose again, drilling more holes though Agony as she stood there.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATTATATATATATATATATATTAATCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK.

Agony smiled. She looked as if she was in the grip of an orgasm as the bullets popped out of her body, levitating as the holes closed behind them. Within a second, Agony didn't have a single wound on her, and in the next second, she didn't even have a scratch on her outfit. In shock, Ranchi dropped the empty Uzis as fear exploded in her stomach and heart.

Agony looked at all the bullets floating around her, all from her wounds, all stained with her blood.

"I don't want these." Agony said, pointing at Ranchi. "You have them."

Far in the woods, a short little mime-like man named Chaozu was gathering wood when he heard Ranchi open fire. He smiled, thinking of the poor trees and maybe a deer that was going to be their unfortunate dinner.

But as the firing went on, Chaozu began to gather wood more slowly. Something was wrong, especially when the firing stopped and started up again. Even shooting at a running deer, Ranchi wouldn't have fired that long.

Again, there was silence.

Then a shriek tore through the forest, a shiek of horrible pain, and Chaozu dropped the wood and took off towards where his best friend's wife was.

And farther away, a scarred three-eyed man looked up. He hadn't heard the bullets, but he heard the scream as if it was next to him.

"LUNCH!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed, and flew off towards the campsite so fast he set the air on fire.

Ranchi was on the ground, holding the ruins of what had been her legs and screaming. When Agony had pointed at her, all the bullets had flow directly at her legs, and the metal pellets had all slammed through her legs at once, destroying them. All there was left was gooified muscle and shattered bone.

Despite the unimaginable pain, Lunch look up as Agony walked over to her, sucking at the air. What she was really doing was sucking down the torture she had inflicted on Lunch. Ranchi's screams died away as she looked into Agony's eyes.

And saw hell itself glittering in them.

Agony raised her hand, pointing at the transfixed woman.

"Bang bang, you're dead."

And then the bullets flew backwards, all of slamming into Ranchi's head at once. It exploded with a wet pop, splattering brains and bones chips on Agony's face.

Reaching down, Agony picked up a shred of bloody blonde hair and wiped the splattered cereberal tissues off of her face as she smiled and started to eat.

Chaozu stood, utterly frozen. He had expected the worst, but the vision in front of him when he had emerged in the campsite was beyond anything he had ever seen, even in his worst nightmares.

Lunch lay, her head gone and her legs just a thinly held together pile of bloody mush. But that wasn't that worst part. The worst was the woman, kneeling beside her, reaching onto Lunch's ripped-open torso and pulling the heart out to contently eat.

Chaozu struggled not to vomit or to run away. Lunch had been his friend and his best friend's wife. Tien was going to need him for the agony that lay ahead.

Yes. For Tien, this lunatic who had killed Lunch would die.

Agony heard the footsteps, and looked up to see Chaozu approaching with purpose.

"Oh hey!" Agony said in a friendly tone. "Care for some? I ate the heart but I'm sure there's something else in here that's good…lemme see…" Agony said, reaching around in Lunch's guts. When she pulled out the liver, Chaozu nearly cracked and ran, but he had to stay calm, focussing on the revenge he would bring on this insane woman.

"How about the liver? Oh wait, I like the liver too." Agony said, bringing it to her mouth and taking a contented bite.

"You killed…Lunch…" Chaozu, low and in a tone so dangerous even his worst foes had never heard it.

"Lunch? Yep, she was lunch! My lunch!" Agony said, taking another bite. The rage exploded on Chaozu's heart, and as he brought his hands up he used a word he had never used in his life.

"YOU…BITCH!"

And then a wave of force slammed into Agony, throwing her against a tree so hard it nearly broke in half. Agony collasped on the ground, her back crushed so badly it curved inward.

Chaozu slowly lowered his hands. He could sense Tien coming. He hoped he could help his best friend cope with the grief. In the end, there were always the Dragon Balls…

"Oh yes…" Agony said.

Chaozu looked in shock as Agony's back snapped back into its normal shape, the crushed flesh smoothing out as Agony slithered to her feet like the serpent she was.

"Hurt me more, clown boy. HURT ME MORE!" she shrieked, leaping at Chaozu.

Half of Chaozu's mind was in numb shock, but the other half was silently speaking to him, saying that the woman apparently had a regeneration talent, but she didn't possess any ki and thus would be vunerable to his ESP mind freeze.

Chaozu threw out his hands again as Agony drew close.

"CHOU-NOU-RYOKU!"

Agony stopped in mid-air, frozen solid. It had worked. But she was still smiling at him, a twisted, lopsided, horrible _bloodthirsty_ smile…

Chaozu prepared himself to reach into her mind and command her to stop breathing. He had control of her body, and even if she could regenerate, she still had to breathe.

He slipped in his probe…

Chaozu never got a chance to realize he had made the biggest mistake of his life. For to make Agony do something, he had to see into her mind, and everything that was in there.

His probe stopped dead as it washed over him. Inside Agony was hell, the tortured screaming of thousands of souls, all of whom had different horrific fates, all under Agony's iron fist as she shrieked laughter and continued the horrid suffering. He saws thousands among thousands of faces he didn't know, their mouths locked in eternal howls of pain and futile pleading for mercy, all of them being violated physically, mentally, emotionally, and in ways Chaozu couldn't even conceive of.

He saw Bra, naked and screaming as thorned whips lashed bloody lines across her back.

And he saw Lunch, slowly boiling to death in a pot of liquid as she screamed even as her lips fell off and her lungs burned with fire.

His mind was overwhelmed and his sanity snapped before his mind totally shut down, completely short-circuited from his vision.

In a way, he was the lucky one. With his mind gone, he didn't feel a thing as Agony grabbed him, raised him above her head, and tore him in half.

Tien broke from the forest as Agony raised Chaozu above her head. He opened his mouth to scream for her to stop.

Too late.

As Chaozu was ripped in two, Tien stopped dead in his tracks, in hopeless shock and horror. Blood sprayed from the body, raining down on Agony and drenching her. She raised her head and laughed with delight as the blood poured across her face.

Then she tossed the legs aside and pulled Chaozu's heart from his chest. Dropping the corpse like a piece of garbage, she took the whole thing in her mouth, sheer pleasure on her face.

Then she saw Tien.

"Hey, a Triclops!" she said with her mouth full.

Shaking, Tien looked at Chaozu. Then he looked and saw the body of Lunch, his wife. They had been talking about having kids just the other night…

He looked at Agony. If he'd had any hair, someone might have seen it flash gold, even if Tien wasn't a saiya-jin, for the rage that entered his body rivaled any anger any of the Super Saiya-jins had ever felt in their initial transformations.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Tien brought his hands up in front of him, forming them into a triangle.

"SHIN KIKOUHOU!"

Agony blinked as a gigantic blast of energy erupted from Tien's hands. Then it enveloped her and she screamed as it burned away her flesh before a gigantic explosion shook the ground where she had been, knocking down all the trees around her and Tien for miles.

Tien slowly lowered his hands. He'd looked down the length of his blast as he shot it and had seen the woman's flesh burn away. She was dead, vaporized. 

"Chaozu…Lunch…" he sobbed. He knew in the back of his mind that he could get the Dragon Balls and revive them, but for now his mind was consumed with mourning his best friend and lover, taken from him by a lunatic.

Perhaps Tien should have been wondering how an apparent non-ki user could kill his wife, let alone Chaozu. Although he was the weakest fighter on the Z senshi, Chaozu could handle an army of humans who didn't use ki, and no one who didn't use ki could have dodged all the bullets Ranchi would have shot at them.

He also should have watched his step, for as he bent over to sob, he nearly stepped on the outskirts of the crator his blast had made in the ground. He pulled himself back in time, but he nearly did take a tumble.

He coughed on the dust. It stung his eyes and made them tear more, but it didn't matter. He'd be shedding a lot of tears before he packed up and went looking for Shen Lon.

A pebble suddenly hit his shin. Feeling it, he instinctively looked up.

Them something lunged from the dust and smoke in front of him, something white and cruelly sharp. Tien gasped in shock and tried to block.

But it was too little, too late, as the bone dagger shoved itself through his throat.

As his airpipe was severed and blood began to pour from his neck, Tien tried to scream, but all that came out was a bubbling moan. His eyes all went as wide as they could as Agony stepped from the crator and out of the dust.

She couldn't possibly be alive. Over half her body had been burnt away, revealing only blackened bone. Charred intestines hung from the rib cage, half her heart and lung was missing, and three-quarters of her face was now a burnt skull.

But she still had those eyes. The soul shredding eyes.

Then black energy erupted on her, and pink muscle suddenly sprang up from the bones, rebuilding itself from nothing. Tien watched in horror even as his brain screamed for oxygen and his life's blood poured down his chest.

As Agony healed and her organs regenerated from nothingness, Tien saw Agony's heart was as black as pitch, before it vanished behind mucles appearing on the rib cage.

Slowly, Agony raised her other hand. She'd broken off her own right hand and half her forearm to have the bone dagger that was now lanced through Tien's throat. But as Tien watched, her left hand, skeletal and with no flesh on it at all, slowly reformed itself into a weapon, the finger bones now knives of bone, made to cut and tear.

"If thy third eye offends thee, pluck it out." Agony whispered.

And then Tien was plunged into eternal darkness as Agony drove her knife fingers into his eyes, smiling as he tried to scream.

Krillian lowered his head, tears of sadness springing to his eyes. He'd come as soon as he'd heard, but the whole way there he couldn't believe it, and even now he couldn't as he looked at the bodies of people he'd called his friends.

Gohan had found them, drawn by the explosion while flying home. He'd told him, told everyone via a telephone the police had given him, and now they were all there. Even Yamcha, who had come back from a trip that very night, was there, trying not to throw up or cry.

There was only one person missing, and he was coming in from the sky.

Goku landed. Krillian expected him to immediately freak or throw up, but he didn't. His face was so serious and his gaze so settled it freaked Krillian

He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder and looked up to see his wife Eighteen, her own eyes glazed with horror.

"Who did this?" she asked in shock.

"The same people…or person…who…Bra…this morning…" Krillian said, not able to get it out.

Goku looked at the destroyed body of Lunch, the mutilated body of Chaozu, and finally Tien, his throat ripped open, his eyes gorged out, and his chest torn open. All three of their hearts were gone.

Goku took a deep slow breath. Before the coming of Vegeta and co, before he knew he was an alien, the three people here had been his friends, and they still were. And this death was worse then the ones they had suffered at Nappa's hands. That had been merely death. This was _madness_.

First Bra, then the roads, then the birthday party, and now _this…insanity._

"AARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed as he exploded into Super Saiya-jin. He threw back his head and screamed to the heavens.

"ALL RIGHT, YOU WANT TO ACT LIKE AN ANIMAL, I'LL TREAT YOU LIKE AN ANIMAL! FROM THIS MOMENT FORTH, WHOEVER YOU ARE, WHEN I FIND YOU, YOU'LL GET NO MERCY FROM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Agony didn't hear the scream. She was already far away, sitting on a rock, playing with a lock of Lunch's hair. Her body had completely healed. Anyone who saw her would think she had never been touched.

Within her, Chaozu and Tien screamed as their souls, trapped within her evil heart, were subjected to all the horrific agonies that Chaozu had seen. As the screams for mercy rang within her, Agony smiled.

"I like this world."

__

To Be Continued


	3. Beat Me If You Can, Survive If I Let You

Chapter 3

"All right, we've all gathered here to try and figure out how we are going to handle this." Son Gohan said. The remaining Z Fighters nodded at him as they sat or stood around the table at Son Goku's house. It had been a few days since the horrific massacre that had begun with Bra and ended with Tien. The dead had been buried and their hearts were mourning, but it didn't stop the Z Fighters from looking at the problem. Who had done this, why, and where had he gone?

He, supposedly, because Vegeta insisted he had tussled with the killer at the morgue where his daughter had been. However, several things shot his theory to pieces. They had the morgue security camera videotape of the event, where the man in black had somehow overcome Vegeta, and then done some mysterious thing over Bra's face. He'd moved out of shot for a minute, then came back in and took Bra's hand as he kneeled. The man in black hadn't damaged the hand in any way, and his back was to the camera so you couldn't see what he was doing or saying. He'd then rose, said something to Vegeta, who had missed him by a minute, and left.

The kicker was from tests done on Tien, Chaozu's, and Lunch's bodies, the man in black was in the morgue at the same time that whoever had killed Tien, Chaozu, and Lunch was doing the horrible deed. Vegeta had argued that the man must have possessed some kind of teleport power like Kakarott's Instantaneous Movement power, but even if that was true, another thing Vegeta had seen, or more precisely, _sensed_, was even more damning to his vehement theory that the man in black was the killer.

The man in black had a ki. Vegeta could sense it because it was so strong for a human. It certainly put Mr. Satan to shame, and might have even been at the level of Tien or Yamcha.

When the police had come for the bodies, every one of the Z fighters tried to distract themselves from the terrible tragedy by hunting for the ki of the killer. If he could overcome Chaozu and Tien, he had to have a ki.

But they had sensed nothing, and they had burned themselves out trying. Vegeta had even brought a scouter. There was nothing. The killer had no ki, instead drawing his power from something else.

If the man in black had been the killer…they would have sensed him.

Gohan was sure even Vegeta knew this, deep down. But he let him cling to it. In the past few days Vegeta had been more vunerable then ever, and he needed his friends and anything else to keep him sane. Because if Vegeta fell apart, the earth was going to feel the consequences.

"Ok, first item: The man in black who Vegeta fought. He's our strongest suspect. Any ideas on how he managed to accomplish…his tasks?" Son Gohan said, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

Several came, most from Vegeta, who stood in the corner not looking at anyone unless spoken to. Trunks pitched in a few too. In a way, Trunks was even worse then his father. Vegeta had had several fits of fury that had reshaped a few landscapes to try and work through his grief, but Trunks had locked it away after his crying jag in Gohan's arms. Instead, he had sealed himself away in his mother's lab, refusing to see anyone, even his best friend Goten, who was hurt. Indeed, his little brother was visibly affected, sitting on a couch next to Marron. Normally, he would have an arm around her, or be holding her hand, but instead he sat, not even looking at her. Marron kept glancing in his direction, worried glances, but Goten was fully focussed on his older brother.

The rest of the fighters sat around tables and chairs, all with a range of emotions. Goku sat with Chi-Chi, who had been wringing her hands every ten seconds. She'd known Bulma best of all of them, and she had taken it hard. Goku comforted his wife as best he could, while paying solemn attention to his oldest son. Vegeta stood in his corner, eyes downcast. It was such a change from Vegeta's usual arrogant lean and cocky grin that Gohan had to resist doing a double take every time he looked at him, to make sure it was Vegeta. Trunks sat in a chair, his face looking about a hundred years old and his hands frequently supporting his head up via fingers on his forehead and temples. Yamcha sat in another chair. Bulma's condition had hit him hard as well, for despite their breakup, he still loved her in a way. One couch was occupied by Goten, Marron, Eighteen, and Krillian. Videl sat in another chair, Pan sitting in her lap. Ubuu stood in another corner. The only one missing was Piccolo, who was off on a mission to New Namek. Goku, via Kaiou-sama, had told him of the events, and he had said he would try and get back as soon as possible. Gohan had even thought of contacting Mr. Satan and Fat Buu, but decided not to. Tien, Chaozu, Lunch, and Bra had been their friends, not his, and in this incident, it was a matter of family.

"Ok. Now supposing this man in black is not the killer, we need to know who is. Anyone?"

"I've spoken with Dende and Kaiou-sama. They'd tried to find him, and had no luck. Dende says as far as he can tell, after…Tien…the killer went on into the Refout woods. Those woods are huge, and he could be anywhere in them…" Goku began.

"Then let's raze it to the ground!" Vegeta yelled, getting out of his corner.

"I'm with my father!" Trunks said, getting up.

Goten was shaking. According to the map that his brother had drawn of the killer's best estimated path after he had killed Bra, he had been right in it. He might have missed him by minutes or seconds, and it unnerved him greatly.

"Vegeta, it won't do any good, because we don't know if burning it down will uncover him, and two, we might kill him in the process. Does anyone want to give this bastard a quick death?" Gohan said.

"NO!" came the chorus. Chi-Chi wrung her hands at his son's angry words, but she didn't say anything. In her heart, for what the man had done to Bulma and her daughter, she wanted him to have a fate just as cruel as the one he had inflicted apon them.

Vegeta was back in his corner, Trunks was back in his seat. Gohan made a noise of relief.

"Ok, besides burning the forest to the ground, does anyone have any idea on how to find the killer?"

The debate went into the night.
    
    Elsewhere, Vengeance was holed up in a laboratory he had broken into, some company called Capsule Corperation. Now he was downloading all the information he could about this strange new world, especially everything he could find about its defenders.

Slowly, Vengeance learned of the Z Fighters, their adventures and battles, the way the world saw them (some weak moron named Mr. SATAN, of all things, took all the credit), and everything else.

"No wonder that shrimp took so many taser shots." He muttered, eluding to his fight with Vegeta. Vegeta had more power then just about anything he had ever seen, except for the greatest fighter on the planet, and maybe the universe, Son Goku.

But Vengeance doubted they had ever met anyone like Agony. Sure, they'd fought beings that could regenerate, notably two warriors named Perfect Cell and Majinn Buu. He'd studied those files the closest, praying that the warriors might have some familarity with the threat they now faced. But his heart sank as he read of the exact details of the regeneration powers of those foes. It was nothing like Agony's. She was in a class all her own.

Vengeance read on into the night, thanking the woman known as Bulma Briefs, whoever she was, that she had compiled all this information.

"Ok, that's all. We'll meet tomorrow and see what else we can do. Remember, stick together, be on guard, and keep alert for ANYTHING." Gohan concluded. He hoped that these words would be enough to protect them, and he prayed that whoever the killer was, that they could find him before he took any more lives.

Trunks slowly walked back to his mother's lab, his mind occupied with dark thoughts the whole way. No one, not even his father, knew of the rage that burned within his heart.

__

I'm almost done. I will avenge you Bra. I will. I promise!

Letting himself in with a key, he turned on all the lights.

The first thing he saw was that the computer was on.

And the second he saw was that someone wearing black was vanishing out a window.

"HEY! COME BACK!" Trunks yelled. Within seconds he was out the window and down on the ground below it.

His eyes darted about, but whoever had leapt out of the window had just…disappeared.

His mind wild that he might find the killer, Trunks proceeded to turn the entire Capsole Corperation building and ground upside down over the next hour. He didn't find anyone except night security guards and janitors, none of whom had seen anyone or anything.

Stewing in the fact that he might have let the killer escape, Trunks's rage exploded as his mind focussed on one thing. He stomped back to the laboratory, not planning to eat or sleep until he finished it.

Elsewhere, Marron was lying on Goten's shoulder as they sat on the roof of her house. Goten was strumming a slow tune and singing a song he claimed was about her hair. But Marron's mind was elsewhere, thinking a whole different thing over.

__

Ask him.

What if he dumps me?

Then he isn't worthy of you, after all the things he's said! Ask him!

I dunno…

DO IT!

"Goten?" she said softly.

"Golden wheat in the sun…yes, Marron?"

"I need to ask you something."

"Ask away, Lovely Locks."

Marron smirked. That was his nickname for her, and she thought it was incredibly unwieldly. But she loved it none the less.

"Uh…well…you see…" Marron stammered, as Goten, his hair being swept in a soft breeze, listened.

"Wanna move in together?" she suddenly blurted out.

Goten was floored, or roofed, or whatever else could be used to describe his shock.

"Move in…?" he said, slowly, as if the words were food he was having trouble swallowing.

"Yeah. I mean we've been dating for so long, our parents get along, I'm sure they'd help us set up…" Marron said in a torrent as her lack of knowledge on how to phrase her plea of commitment caused her to overdo it.

But Goten didn't seem to be paying attention. In the middle of the torrent he put his finger to her lips in a gesture to be quiet.

"You feel that?" he whispered. Marron, a bit stunned, shook her head. She didn't feel anything.

"I can sense immense waves of ki washing across the land. It's loaded with anger and rage. Normally ki can't convey emotions, and if the emotions are strong enough to, the person usually reigns it in. But this one is coming unchecked, like the person can only focuss on one thing and is ignoring everything else…dear god, I think it's Trunks. I've never seen him so angry!" Goten said in a worried tone. He sprang to his feet, slinging his guitar over his back as Marron got to her feet.

"But Goten…"

"Sorry Marron. We'll have to discuss this another time. I have to check this out. Trunks has been so distant lately, it could be a silent plea for help. See you tomorrow. Love you." Goten said, giving Marron a quick peck on the lips before flying off towards the Capsule Corperation.

Marron stood, confused over what had just happened, before her mother suddenly slammed open the trap door that led to the roof.

"MARRON! GO…hey, where's Goten, Marron?" Eighteen said. Marron looked at her mother, a confused sadness on her face.

"He had to leave…something about Trunks…" she said unhappily. Had Goten really been concerned for Trunks, or was he lying to get away from her? She couldn't tell, and that scared her. She could usually read Goten so well.

"I see." Eighteen said. The look on her face showed that she understood in a way that only a mother could.

"What is it mom?"

"I was going to tell the two of you to get down here and look at the TV. The news just broke. There's been another massacre."

"OH NO!" Marron said, as her hands flew to her mouth. "Where?"

"Reports are sketchy, but it was on the other end of the Refout forest…a college…" Eighteen said. "Reports are saying…there aren't any survivors."

"Oh god, how many?"

"Including students going to night school and staff…over five hundred."

Trunks gave the table a bitter smile as he completed the last circuit. In his hands was a device that looked like a cross between a TV remote control and a portable TV. A small slot was open in the side.

Silently, Trunks reached under the table and brought out the chilled box he had slid under it as he had went back to work. He entered in the security code that made it unseal, opened it, and reached into it, removing four vials. Within each one was a blood sample, all of them labeled with a name.

Lunch.

Chaozu.

Tien.

Bra.

Slowly, Trunks inserted each blood sample into his device, his eyes tearing a bit when he put in his little sister's blood. But he shoved his feeling aside and began entering commands.

On the monitor a map of the world appeared. On it a blinking dot indicated Japan. Trunks tapped a button repeatedly and the map began to scale in, closer and closer, until it was down to a small enough map so that Trunks could recognize the area. 

Now several dots blinked on the map. Trunks entered a command to eliminate several locations on the map, which just happened to be the locations his friends and sister were buried.

That left one single blinking dot.

Trunks's mouth opened in a grin so fierce and hard it may as well have been a snarl.

"Now I have you."

Gohan was glad he had missed dinner. It would have been on the ground within seconds as he looked around the college.

It was the same. Horrible, monsterous murders. But these were the worst of all, and what made Gohan so sick was that so many of them seemed to be IMPOSSIBLE.

Like the first one he had nearly thrown up at. It had been a woman, about 20 years old. She had been dangling off a street light. That might not have been so bad, except what had been used to hang her: her own intestines. Her stomach had seemingly exploded from the inside and her guts had wrapped around her neck and the pole, jerking her off the ground and hanging her. To apparently ensure that the woman didn't get down, her arms had also been torn right off.

Horrible variations and other deaths were strewn about the campus, which had been burnt down and torn apart. One that Son Gohan couldn't get out of his head was the parking lot one. Someone had seized a male teacher, somehow liquified the tar road, and then shoved the man's face into the bubbling red hot mass until he suffocated or drowned, the police weren't sure which one had been his fate.

This wasn't some ordinary killer, but Gohan had deduced that long ago. But whoever it was, he definitely had powers beyond any human. The power to set things on fire at will, make a body rebel against itself, and throw things and tear them down like they were made of matchsticks.

"Saiyaman, here's another one."

Gohan looked over to the policeman and went over to check. His stomach luched. Another kid, this one had been pinned to the wall, by what looked to be hundreds of _spoons._ The dull instruments had been thrown through the boy with enough force that they were impaled into the stone wall behind the boy.

As his stomach flip-flopped even more, Gohan added that the ability to tear material things apart and throw them so hard and accurately must be some kind of telekinesis. An immensely powerful kind.

Then Gohan realized that the killer had also used a spoon to rip open the boy's chest and take his heart.

For the second time in a few days, Gohan lurched to some nearby bushes and threw up.

Trunks was walking out of his mother's laboratory, pushing buttons on his device and cursing a blue streak when Son Goten dropped down in front of him. Trunks nearly brained his best friend until he realized who it was.

"Trunks!"

"Goten! What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

"I'm busy, Goten. Maybe another time." Trunks started to push past Goten before the young hybrid grabbed Trunks's elbow.

"Trunks, I know something's wrong. I could sense it all the way from Marron's house. I know you're angry, I know how bad it must hurt to have lost your mother and sister like that. But if you lock it away, you'll turn into your father!" Goten said. Trunks brushed Goten off as he turned around.

"Goten…" he said, in a "what am I going to do with you?" tone. Goten noticed the device in Trunks's hands.

"What's that?"

Trunk was silent for a while, before slowly starting to speak.

"It's a device that tracks the DNA of things. I designed it to see if I could find the killer, because after what he did to Bra…he surely got blood on him. If he still has even the tiniest bit of Bra's blood on him, or Tien's, or Chaozu's, or Lunch's…I'll be able to find him. And kill him."

Goten was startled. Trunks sounded so…_bloodthirsty._

"And you were going to do this alone?"

"Yes. I have to. I share my father's rage, but he lacks foresight. If the killer goads him he may rip the entire planet to shreds in the act of killing him. His fury is too...unstable. I won't do that. I will deal with the killer myself…and give his head to my father. Maybe that will sait him…I hope it will sait me also…"

"Trunks…" Goten said, grabbing his friend's shoulders

"I have to do this Goten. Please let go of me…"

"TRUNKS! Listen to yourself! You sound like the murderer, not the avenging hero! If you think I'm actually going to let you go alone, you're out of your fucking mind!"

Trunks looked at Gohan with his head cocked.

"No Gohan. If I don't do this…alone…I think that will be my fate."

Brushing off Gohan's hands, Trunks turned away from him, fiddling with his device. Goten stared, his hands out helplessly.

"Trunks…"

Then his cell phone began to ring. Goten glanced at it and then at Trunks. Trunks was still fiddling with his device. Goten guessed he wouldn't be taking off immediately. He picked up the call.

"Hello?"

"Goten? It's your mother. Where are you?"

"With Trunks. Why Mom?"

"There's been another…attack. At Nary College. Your older brother went there to look at it. He wants to call another emergency meeting…apparently what he saw really rattled him."

"Again?" Goten said. If the murders had rattled Gohan after he'd already seen a bunch of them, they must have been really bad.

"What do you mean, again?" Trunks said, suddenly grabbing Goten.

"There's been another mass killing. Our madman is back in action…"

"WHERE!?!?" Trunks yelled, shaking Goten.

"Uh….Nary College…"

Trunks let go of Goten as his battle aura exploded around him causing the wind to whistle.

"Trunks, where are you going?"

"To avenge my sister and mother. Please honour my request." Trunks said.

A second later, he was gone.

"Goten? Goten? The meeting's going to be at your older brother's house. Are you there?" Chi Chi's voice said from the phone.

"Yeah. Gotcha." Goten said in a dead voice, and hung up, looking at the sky where Trunks had flown off into.

He stood there for a long long time.

On a throne of garbage and scrap metal, Agony reclined. She'd taken so many hearts and souls she'd needed a place to rest so she could eat and absorb them all. She could feel each new soul as she sucked it into her, as their howls of pain charged her with power and an incredible sense of living.

"This is life. Lots of things to kill, and no annoying boy hounding me at every step." She smiled.

A rat scurried across the floor, drawn by the smell of raw meat. As it came towards Agony, she lifted her hand and pointed at it. The rat suddenly froze. She pointed upwards and it drifted up and towards her. The rat struggled until it was face to face with Agony, where it looked into her eyes and promptly died.

Agony smiled her cruel smile and flicked her fingers. A small blast of energy flew and blew the rat to bits, splattering her with newly warm blood. She licked it off her face, smirking and marveling at the abilities she now possessed.

"Oh yes. And this unexpected bonus." She said. Within her, newly imprisoned souls screamed.

Trunks flew away from Nary College, trying to hold onto his lunch. The horror he had witnessed had fully cemented his desire to do what he had decided to do.

While he'd told Goten that his device could track the DNA of the victims if the killer still had any on him, he hadn't told him the signal had been weak and erratic, and impossible to lock down. But the murders at Nary College had been fresh. Which meant the killer was most likely covered with fresh DNA. Without the police seeing him, Trunks had sneaked another blood sample from a body and programmed it into his device. Now the signal was clear and strong.

Slowly, Trunks made his way along the landscape until he came to the outskirts of a small town. Once it may have thrived, but apparently those days were long gone. The town was practically deserted, surrounded by abandonned and crumbling factories.

The signal beeps grew louder and louder until it became a numbing buzz. He looked down on the first ghost factory outside the town. He was here. The killer was inside.

Trunks tucked away the device. He blinked and tried to sense a ki inside the building. There was nothing. Either his device was wrong, or the killer didn't have a ki, just as was suspected.

Trunks ground his teeth, and slowly headed for the nearest door.

Agony sat up. She could sense something. Yes, someone was outside. She could feel their rage, and beneath it, their pain for someone dead and gone.

She licked her lips as her insatiable craving was reawakened. The mourning pain wasn't good enough. She wanted more.

"See boy come. Come boy come. Die boy die."

The inside of the factory was dimly lit, and Trunks cast his wary eyes around it. He looked down on the floor to see a trail of drying blood leading into the shadows.

Trunks walked into the factory, looking and listening for the slightest cue that would give away the killer's location. Once he had his hands around his neck…

"Welcome to my parlor."

Trunks whirled as the female voice drifted out of the shadows. He shuddered, the voice was so goddamn _evil_.

The lights suddenly came on. Since most of them had been blown out or stolen long ago, it didn't light the factory up much. But it was enough so he could see her, slinking on a pile of metal covered with splattered blood.

Agony looked at the handsome lad with purple hair and her eyes lit up.

"Ohhhhhh, a pretty boy."

Trunks swallowed at the sight. He'd braced himself but the preperation was sliding apart as he looked at the woman. It was wrong. He'd expected a huge man, a fat grotesque creature with beady eyes and a nose that resembled a pig's snout, or something that was simularily hideous. But this woman was thin and so _beautiful_. Her complexion and face were flawless, like they had been cast in stone.

Then he saw her eyes, and fear exploded in his heart. But he did not back down, even as the eyes seemed to reach into him and send daggers of ice up and down his spine. 

No, he had been right after all. This wasn't a woman. This was a demon from the depths of hell.

"Your sister's blood tasted so sweet. Little girls always do." Agony whispered, licking her fingertips.

The words hit Trunks like blows. This woman, this _bitch_, had murdered his sister, and she had _enjoyed it! SHE WAS LAUGHING AT IT!_

"But her pain and agony now…is even sweeter. As yours will be." Agony said, and chuckled.

Trunks's rage began to gather, a huge inferno of fury ready to burn down everything in front of it.

"Oh, by the way, your mother…? After we're done here, I'm gonna finish what I started." Agony said, and smiled, a smile full of malevolence and horrible bloodlust.

The sound of Trunks's snapping was almost audible.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed, as his hair flared straight to SSJ2 and he blasted at Agony, grabbing his head in her hand and shoving her on the ground. Then he was on her, smashing in her skull with fists, ripping, tearing, screaming all the while.

Then he felt the ripping pain as something grabbed his back and tore a line of cuts down it. He opened his mouth to scream and then he felt all his teeth shatter as Agony smashed a fist seemingly made of steel into his mouth. He reared back and Agony blasted him at point-blank range with flames, sending him tumbling across the factory, a burning marionette doll.

Trunks was on his feet, ripping off his flaming jacket and shirt, as Agony got to her feet, her caved in skull popping out and healing as her body repaired the damage Trunks had managed to inflict. She knew if she goaded him, he would snap and attack, and cause her great pain. It had been bliss as the pain from her wounds and the pain from his mixed and flowed within her, charging her very being like a kind of pleasurable electricity.

"Pretty boy." She whispered. Trunks felt his back and the four ugly wounds that now ran down it, and looked as Agony raised her hand. Her fingers weren't there anymore, they had metemorphisized into razor-sharp barbed knives, the flesh tracing right into the steel. She lifted them, letting his blood drip onto her face and licking it off.

"You taste as good as your sister."

Trunks's aura exploded as he made some motions before slamming his hands forward.

"FINISH BUSTER!" he screamed. His broken teeth cut his lips and gums but he didn't care, he was beyond caring, all he wanted was for this woman to die, die for her crimes, die for _existing._

The blast exploded from Trunks's hands, enveloping Agony. She staggered and screamed, and then laughed as her flesh began to rebuild the instant it was burnt away. Trunks poured on the energy, and Agony began to walk towards him, the energy ripping off her flesh and burning it to ashes, only for new flesh to reappear and suffer the same fate. She kept coming, the agony she was in a state of utter heaven for her.

Sweat poured down Trunks's forehead as he poured it on, but Agony kept coming, taking slow steps, and by god she was _laughing_, she was_ loving it,_ she was being burnt to ashes over and over again and to her it was _fucking euphoria…_

Then Trunks ran out of energy. Slowly, his blast faded away, leaving Agony a burnt skeleton but her flesh was healing and regenerating even as the last of the ashes fell off her skeleton and oh god she still had those eyes those horrible _hell-emitting eyes…_

Then Trunks's fear was replaced by pain as Agony reached out and her bony hands transformed into blades.

"Pretty boy."

Then they slashed, and Trunks screamed as the right side of his face was torn down to the bone.

"Pretty boy! Pretty boy!" Agony cackled as she sliced twice more, tearing Trunks's face into a blood-spurting mess. Blood soaked his now-blonde hair, and Trunks tried to back away and focus away the pain. The wounds were superficial and his good looks didn't mean squat. He had to attack again, send this demon back to hell, for Bra and the world's sake.

Then Agony smashed a knee into his chest. 

Trunks gasped and then blood flew in a torrent from his mouth as his whole rib cage shattered, puncturing his lungs. He crumbled to his knees, gasping for air as more blood poured from his mouth in a steady stream. He looked up into Agony's face, as she smiled in delight.

Then Agony picked him up and hurled him right through the factory wall.

As Trunks smashed through the wall and landed on the ground, he tried to get and failed. Another huge jolt of pain lanced through his right leg, and he realized that having used up all his power for the futile Finish Buster, he hadn't been able to form a ki shield around him to prevent injury.

__

How did this happen? This woman doesn't even use ki! But I threw everything I had at her and all it did was give her PLEASURE!

"Trunks!"

Son Goten landed next to his best friend, and Trunks looked up. He almost smiled. Not only had he not listened to him, he'd neglected to take off his guitar, leaving it strapped to his back.

"Oh my god, Trunks!"

"Goten…get away…"

"No fucking way! Whoever did this is gonna pay, and pay in BLOOD!" Goten said as he went SSJ. He looked towards the warehouse and started towards it before Trunks grabbed his leg.

"NO! Goten, don't go in there! She'll kill you!"

"She?" Goten said, looking down at Trunks. His heart lurched. His best friend was an absolute mess, his face cut to ribbons along with his back. Blood kept pouring out of his mouth. Goten cursed that he hadn't brought any Senzu beans.

"Oh pretty boy…" came Agony's voice from the warehouse. A second later she stepped from the shattered wall she had thrown Trunks through. "Oh, you brought a friend! Two for the price of one!"

Goten ground his teeth in rage. The woman was splattered with blood that could only be from one person. Goten started to walk forward before Trunks grabbed him again.

"NO! Goten, don't underestimate her! She's a monster! She's a demon straight from hell!"

"Why thank you!" Agony said.

Then her face exploded out the back of her skull as Goten sent a ki blast right through her head. She pitched backwards and collapsed on the ground.

"No, _thank you._" Goten hissed, and turned to help his friend up.

"No Goten!"

"What? I have to help you, she's dead…"

"NO SHE'S NOT! LOOK!"

Goten turned as Agony stood up, her face filling out. Goten's jaw dropped as flesh sprang from nowhere to fix the damage, and in a second Agony was again whole.

"Oh, that felt good." She whispered.

Goten swallowed and tried to pick his friend up.

"Running away? I don't think so!" Agony said, running forward. Then she was blown off her feet and thrown back into the factory by another ki blast from Goten. Goten blasted the wrecked building and it totally collasped, burying Agony beneath it.

"Goten…" Trunks gurgled. It was getting harder and harder to talk with his injuries. "She feeds off her own pain…and our pain…"

"I know." Goten said. "With that known I think she's gonna bust out of there any second now. If she took you apart so easily I'll be no match for her. That leaves us two options."

"I don't want to die." Trunks murmured, and coughed up more blood.

"Ok, then we're down to one. Can you stand?"

"No, the fucking bitch broke my leg…and I'm out of energy…"

His hand glowing, Goten touched Trunks, and the glow suffused him and vanished.

"I gave you a little of mine. Just enough to fly. We'll do it in the air."

"I dunno…she fucked me up pretty bad…"

Goten grabbed Trunks's hand and yanked him fully up.

"See past the pain. Just like our fathers taught us."

The wreckage began to shake. Goten glanced and it and floated up into the air. Trunks grimanced and then floated up to his side.

"Let's fuck her up bad now." Goten said. Trunks smiled, even though his teeth were broken.

As Agony shoved the wreckage off her and calmly yanked a rusted beam of metal out of her stomach, Goten and Trunks thrust out their arms, each the opposite way.

"FFFFFFUUUUUUUU-SION! HA!"

Agony looked up to the brilliant flash and then at the whole new fighter floating there, in white pants and a vest and with golden hair down to his feet.

"Hey hey hey! It's time to die bitch! I, Gotenks, will fuck you up in ways beyond your imagination!" SSJ3 Gotenks chortled, and dove at Agony, kicking her right through another factory.

Gotenks followed, lazily flying up to Agony and smashing her with blows as soon as she got up, laughing as she flew through another building each time. Finally he got bored, and as she got up, he hurled a gold ki ball at her. It caught her and exploded, completely enveloping her as Gotenks flew up into the sky.

"RENZOKOKEN SHINE SHINE MISSILE!" Gotenks yelled and thrust down his hands, throwing about a million ki blasts at the spot where his ki ball had exploded. The area erupted in new explosions that spread out and enveloped the surrounding factories. Smoke plumed into the air, enveloping Gotenks before it blew away.

"Hey hey! Regenerate from THAT, bitch!" Gotenks quipped, flashing the peace sign. He then flew down to the ground.

"Ok, now I must get back to my father's house so one of my sides can be healed…eh?"

The smoke cleared, to reveal Agony, now a complete skeleton except for a patch of burnt flesh and smoking hair on the upper right side of her skull. 

And her eyes.

She was still standing, looking at Gotenks with her cursed eyes and then suddenly her whole body erupted in black energy, as it flowed over her like an evil tide.

"N-n-no…not possible…!" Gotenks stammered, and began throwing more ki at the figure covered in black energy. The bones broke and shattered to pieces under the blasts, but the pieces didn't fly more then two inches before the black energy snatched them and snapped them back into position and sealed them back together. Faster then Gotenks could blast, flesh began to erupt on the bones, at a speed beyond imagining.

The whole process took less then two seconds to regenerate Agony fully. Despite Gotenks's constant blasting, he couldn't blast it away faster then it could heal.

"YES! YES! OH I LOVE IT!"

Gotenks stopped as he realized that all he was doing was giving Agony pleasure. The wounds he inflicted healed up.

"Nooooo…even with your ability…how…?"

Agony smiled and licked her lips.

"Because you asked so nicely."

And then the ground erupted with sharp shards of rock and edged pieces of metal shrapnal. They flew into the air, powered by Agony's supreme mastery over pain, and began flying at Gotenks. He squawked in fear and went into a mad dance to dodge, but they just kept flying, more and more. Finally he just formed a ki shield around him and watched as they bounced off.

"Nah nah!" he taunted.

Agony stared.

And then she raised her head and hands and screamed mad laughter to the heavens as black energy erupted from her hands and formed into deadly spears. The spears flew at Gotenks.

Gotenks tried to dodge away.

Too late. Gotenks screamed as one of the spears flew right through his shield and impaled itself though his side. He brought his hands down and tried to clutch at the wound as blood began to pour from it, but the black spear was still there and it burned his hands. As blood from the mortal wound rained down into the ground, Gotenks lost concentration and began to fall, the spear yanking him towards Agony.

Gotenks's eyes widened as another blade of black energy materilized on Agony's hand and she she made a "come hither" gesture, and he knew that she was going to carve open his chest and steal his heart just like all the others. He tried to get away, but the spear had sealed itself inside him and brought him to Agony.

"Come here, Pretty Boy." She purred, licking her lips.

And then inside Gotenks's head, a voice came.

__

Go Goten. Run. I'll hold her.

Goten realized that he was back, his personality no longer fused with Trunks. Then he realized what Trunks was going to do.

__

TRUNKS, NO!!!!!!!

And then Goten was himself again as he tumbled away from Agony, the spear no longer in his side. His eyes widened in horror as Trunks fell towards Agony.

__

He did it…he stopped the Fusion early to…NO! TRUNKS!

Agony smiled and brought her blade up as Trunks was impaled on it. The blade burst from his back, Trunks's blood sizzling on it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Goten screamed as Agony swung his best friend down to the ground so that he was before him, impaled on her dark blade. Goten landed on his feet, his eyes as wide as saucers at the horrible sight.

"TRUNKS, NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

Slowly, Trunks turned his head, looking at Goten with the ruin of his face as Agony's face lit up with delight at her catch.

"Run Goten…get toussan…kill her…" he said in a weak voice.

Then Agony reached forward and seized his hair.

"Pretty boy." She whispered.

And then she tore Trunks's head right off his body. Blood sprayed from the stump like a geyser, splattering all over Goten and Agony.

****

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Goten screamed as Agony yanked her blade up, reached into Trunks's chest, and tore his heart from his body. She tossed the decapitated hybrid aside and raised her heart above him, crushing it in her hand and letting the blood flow into her open mouth, as she lapped at the air to get all of it.

Goten screamed in utter rage as his hair exploded into Super Saiya-jin Level Two.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Goten roared in rage over the death of his best friend as he brought his hands to his side. Agony tore a bite from the heart and looked at Goten.

"KA-MA-HA-MA-HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Goten thrust his hands forward and let loose with his family's traditional attack. The explosion rocked the earth and sent Goten flying backwards from the point blank range. He tumbled, like a rag doll in the wind, before finally hitting the ground and bouncing across it, finally coming to a stop.

Goten leapt to his feet, whipping up a wind to blow away all the dust. If Agony was still alive, he was gonna know right away.

The smoke cleared, and Goten thrust out his hands, prepared to throw enough ki to crack a moon in half.

Nothing.

Slowly, Goten flew up into the air, his eyes darting everywhere crazily.

Nothing.

Goten scoured his eyes everywhere.

Nothing. No skeleton, no Agony, nothing. She was completely gone. He'd done it.

"Trunks…" Goten sobbed for his friend who had gone for revenge and died. It wasn't right. The woman should have died, not survived to kill Trunks as well. It wasn't fair that someone so evil should take a girl's life and then have enough power to take her brother's life as well. It just _wasn't right._

But there was nothing he could do about it.

Goten sniffed and wiped his nose. He would tell his family and friends, they would mourn, and then they could get the Dragon Balls, because no more lives would be taken by that woman with the eyes from hell.

Sighing, Goten let his hair and his body slip out of the SSJ2 state. He realized he had lost his guitar in the fight, and he looked around to see if he could find it on the ground.

There it was. Goten pointed to it, levitating it up into his hands. He turned to leave.

And Agony, with claws of black fire, slashed her hand across his chest.

Goten screamed and clutched his chest as blood began pouring from the wounds. His guitar, shredded, fell to the ground, leaving Goten clutching the handle. The blood immediately soaked his shirt and began to soak his pants as he clutched the wounds, groaning in pain as he tried to fly backwards away from Agony.

__

How the hell can she fly she couldn't fly before…

"Your friend tasted great. I expect you will too." Agony laughed, as she raised her black claws to slice Goten to ribbons.

And then Goten jammed the broken end of his guitar handle right through Agony's neck. For the first time shock erupted on her face as the wood slashed through her windpipe, but it was only the beginning as Goten swung the handle around and hurled Agony to the ground. She hit it and vanished into explosions as Goten thrust out his hand and let loose a barrage of ki blasts where she had been thrown. Finally he stopped, panting. He'd been lucky. If he hadn't grabbed the guitar, the slice would have killed him for sure. Instead the guitar had lessened the blow somewhat so that it had only gourged four ugly wounds in the flesh across his rib cage. They hurt like hell, but his ribs had protected him. If Agony had aimed just a little lower, Goten would be holding his guts in his hands.

But he had no time to thank his lucky stars. He had to get away, flee from this seemingly unkillable monster, get his father and Vegeta…

Vegeta…he'd just lost his son as well. Despite how much hatred now raged in his heart for her, Goten couldn't help pitying Agony when Vegeta got his hands on her, even if she could regenerate.

"Gotta get away…get away…" Goten moaned, as he flew off into the horizon, blood dripping from his wounds in a steady rain down onto the ground.

Agony watched Goten's flight as she pulled herself up from the crator his blasts had left. She smiled.

"Go ahead and run, boy. You can't escape me. No one in this world can, or will." Agony said. She walked over to where Trunks's head lay and picked it up, looking into the expression of horror that had locked Trunks's face into an eternal scream with her soul-shredding eyes, even as Trunks joined his sister in horrible torture inside her heart.

"Pretty boy."

Goku's face was pure white as he looked over his younger son. He'd staggered into the emergency meeting, bleeding to death from horrible wounds and screaming about Trunks being dead and an invincible woman lunatic demon. Chi-Chi has passed out immediately, and even after Krillian had hurridly produced a Senzu bean and given it to Goten he wouldn't stop ranting about Trunks's killer being unstoppable. One sentence had chilled Goku especially.

__

Even Gotenks couldn't stop her.

Gotenks was one of their greatest warriors.

__

Even Gotenks couldn't stop her.

Vegeta wouldn't believe Goten that his son was dead, not after what had happened, saying that he was Kakarott's son, he was crazy, and every excuse in the book. But Goten had told him where to find Trunks, and Vegeta had hurridly flown off.

Goku would never forget the look on Vegeta's face when he returned with Trunks's mutilated, decapitated body. It was a look of the deepest sorrow Goku had ever seen as Vegeta floated there, his eyes squeezed shut, head lowered.

And he would never forget Vegeta's scream.

__

Tor Yuno, TOR!

Vegeta had screamed something in the saiya-jin language something Goku had never thought he would hear Vegeta say.

__

Why God, WHY?

Goten had eventually passed out himself, and Goku had put his youngest son to bed along with his wife, thanking Kami that he was still alive. Vegeta had left, his face ashen, with Trunks's body, gone to perform an ancient royal saiya-jin ceremony for fathers who had lost their sons.

To murderers.

"Vegeta…even after what you've done…you've redeemed yourself. You didn't deserve this. No one does." Goku murmured, stroking his son's fevered forehead.

"Toussan?"

Goku turned to look at his older son, who stood in the doorway.

"You heard Goten. He was crazy but he wasn't lying. Who is this woman, and god, how do we stop her? Even Gotenks couldn't…" Gohan trailed off.

And then from the shadows, a voice spoke.

"It's my fault."

Goku and Gohan leapt into combat poses at the sudden new voice. Silently, the man in black named Vengeance strode from the shadows in the corner of the room.

"My name is Erik Damien Ravensky." Vengeance said. "And the reason Agony is here, the reason all this death has happened…is because of me."

__

To be Continued

Editor's Note: Hate Agony yet?


	4. Psychofemme

Chapter 4
    
    As Erik Damien Ravensky, or Vengeance, as he prefered, sat at a chair in a place where Gohan had stood only moments before, he marveled on how different the people he had read about looked now, in this time of grief..

There was Yamcha, usually so cooly confident in himself, looking ill. His look were shared by Gohan. Goten was gone, asleep, being watched over by his girlfriend, what was her name, oh yes, Marron. But Erik had taken a look at him, and he hadn't like what he saw. From his crazed ramblings. Goten appeared to have completely lost his mind. Erik hoped he was wrong, that Goten could recover, but at the same time, he knew that those who survive a fight with Agony, and those were very few, rarely return with any semblence of sanity. Agony was so inhuman that her mere touch could bring about this curse.

He knew that all too well.

And if Goten was now hopelessly insane…there was nothing he could do about it.

Chi-Chi, Goku's wife was asleep. Videl and Pan weren't there. Goku had lost his usual goofy innocence, something that made Erik feel saddened. Goku, through all he had seen, always seemed to be able to delight in a few certain pleasures. This was a new Goku, his face hardened as stone. He'd lost his friends before, some of them multiple times, but it had always been in battle, where there was always some semblence of honour, and the few times it hadn't been battle, it had been quick, like a jolt and then they were heading to heaven. Even when Majinn Buu had killed every human on Earth and then later blown up the planet, doing it again, it had been instantaneous.

There was no honour, no speed, and utterly no _rationality_ in the crimes Agony had commited. It was simply butchery, made even more horrible in the fact that Agony _REVELED _in it.

After their previous meeting, Erik had expected there to be some trouble with Vegeta. Even if he had forgiven Erik for the tazer zapping, Erik had claimed he had sent Agony to this world. After losing both his children to her diabolical lust for death and destruction, Erik had expected that Vegeta woul think he had PURPOSELY sent Agony to this world. Nothing could be further from the truth, indeed, it had been a horrible accident, but he had sent her here. Vegeta might decide to take out his rage on Erik, and Erik knew if that happened he was pretty much dead.

But Vegeta had changed most of all. Indeed, he wasn't even listening to Erik. He just stood off in a corner, not moving, not speaking. Erik didn't have to be Agony to feel his pain, but what bothered Erik most of all was that Vegeta had not shed a tear for the entire ordeal.

But Erik didn't have time to give Vegeta lessons about grief. He had to tell the Z Fighters a great deal of things, even if they might not help them.

"Ok, Mr. Ravensky…"

"Erik please…Son Gohan, isn't it?"

"Yes, but just Gohan will be fine. Now, you've come here after skulking around, looking at Bra's body and Bulma's computer records, and you say you brought Agony here. How?"

Erik sighed and brushed back his long black hair. His metal arm was completely concealed, covered by an amazing artificial jelly he had developed that looked and felt exactly like skin, right down to the tiny hairs on the arm. It helped him look more human, and after what had been done to his body, he definitely needed it.

"It's a very long story. Shall I start at the beginning?"

Gohan nodded.

"Scientists and writers have often put forth the theory that the existence we live in is just one of many. They suggest that there could be parallel existences, other dimensions, so to speak, running at the same time as ours, perhaps even side by side. And the popular theory is that these existences are different from the one you live in. These new worlds might be slightly different, or they might be radically different."

"Oh yeah! I used to watch a show about that all the time! This group of people had to kept warping and they kept ending up on different Earths every time, and each Earth had some new quirk, like Hitler won WWII, or children were ruling the planet, or something like that. It was called Sliders!" Yamcha piped up. Erik looked over to him.

"Thank you Yamcha. That's a good example. Because the theory of parallel worlds is no theory. It exists, and I am living proof. I come from another Earth entirely."

All the Z Fighters looked in shock at Erik. Yamcha looked at him like he might have a few screws loose.

"Yeah, I know it's unbelieveable, but it's true. My world has no Z fighters, indeed it doesn't have anyone who's even close to you guys in power, but on the other side, it didn't have anyone like Freiza or Cell. But it had something just as bad."

Slowly, Erik told a long story, how the powers that created existence, or _his _existence anyway, had long ago used the Earth to seal away an evil omnipotent messiah known as Xaxargas. He told how humans had eventually taken over Earth, how Xaxargas had watched and grown fasinated with the little creatures that had conquered his prison, even as his power grew and the powers that be scrambled franctically to find a way to completely destroy him before his seal of a billion years broke. How they had failed and Xaxargas had been unleashed with enough power to destroy everything in the universe.

"But if they didn't have anyone like us, how did humanity defend against this…god, wasn't he?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, I'd say Xaxargas was a god. But all his eons of watching humans had influenced him greatly, indeed, he had taken on many of their qualities, mostly their bad ones. So after he was freed, he came down to Earth and decided to play with it awhile before he embarked on his destruction of the universe."

Erik told the Z Fighters of the Change, the way Xaxargas had swept across it and destroyed civalization in one fell swoop, how he had twisted the lands and the very fabric of reality into shapes he found amusing. And how he had asked every human their fondest wish, so he could grant them the exact opposite, or grant the wish to them for his own devious purposes. But his ultimate goal was to play with humanity in this new world he created until the species broke.

"He infested our world with terrible creatures he had dreamed up, creatures from the legends in the religions and stories of all the culture across out planet, legends from the past and present, and all sorts of other monsters. Looking back, I think he must have been very fond of RPG games." Erik said, a faint smile tugging at his mouth.

"Wait, you say he granted every human a wish?" Goku asked.

"Yes, but his wish was a trick, Even if he gave you exactly what you asked, it meant he either had other plans for you that would make you regret the wish, or he knew eventually the wish would cause diaster and death on it's own."

"What was your wish?"

Erik did smile this time.

"I didn't take one. Instead I swore I would hunt Xaxargas down and destroy him. He was the most evil creature I had ever seen, and I wouldn't let him threaten my planet…"

"Wait a minute, you were your planet's defender?"

"Not exactly. Be patient, I'll explain it all in time. Xaxargas was amused by my defiance of him and left me. But eventually he brought me his idea of a "gift"."

"That woman…"

"Her name is Agony."

Agony was back in the woods and bored again. She'd ripped up a few people she'd found camping, but individual deaths were starting to have less and less of an effect on her. She needed more…or something far stronger…

So she pushed on, slowly growing closer to an isolated cabin deep in the woods…

"You see, for part of his amusement, Xaxargas decided to see what humanity would do to defend itself from him, once their minds had finally gotten around the fact that their world was being ruled by an invicible god. In order to make it more fun for him, while he was initiating the Change, Xaxargas also charged the air with a special power. This power…well, let's just say it was an external ki that Xaxargas taught humans to tap into for power. Before he came, we had martial artists, but none like you. They were all more like Mr. Satan. We didn't have people who could fly, or throw destructive energy, or have buildings dropped on them without a scratch. We just had humans. And that bored Xaxargas, for our technology wouldn't be able to do anything to him. So he granted this power to us. He knew that there would be people who would use it to try and oppose him. But while he found it amusing for humanity to come after him, he also felt it was below him to fight them himself. So he took eight humans he had found, who had hearts and minds that only thought evil, and he granted them incredible power, and they became his Elite. Agony was the last of the Elite, and his crown jewel."

Erik stooped. It was obvious the words stirred some emotions in him. But he went on, and in a long story, he told of a warrior named Ash Merseric who took hold of an ancient destiny and formed a group of warriors that was dubbed the Legacy. He spoke of their many battles, and how eventually he himself became one of them. He told of the battles in which the Elite died at their hands, one by one, and how, in a miracle beyond miracles, Ash somehow, within himself, the human race, and all existence, found a power, at the end of a battle that nearly tore the earth apart, destroyed Xaxargas.

"Whoa! A human defeated a GOD?" Goku said, amazed.

"Yes Goku. Just like you beat Freiza, or your son beat Super Perfect Cell, Ash found a power that defeated the seemingly unkillable Xaxargas. But it wasn't over. The world had changed and would never change back, and creatures still walked on it. And while Xaxargas had been defeated, the power he created for humanity remained. And while it could be used for good, it could also be used for evil. And the Legacy knew there would be others who tried to conquer or destroy this New World, as Ash called it. So they, and I, became the planet's guardians. That is the story of the Legacy…"

"But how does Agony tie into it?" Yamcha asked.

"I'm getting to that. Two of Xaxargas's Elite survived his death, and one was killed soon after. But Agony remained, and ever since then I have been hunting her, trying to stop her slaughter…but she has always escaped every single attempt I have made to kill her, mocking me all the way. But I wouldn't stop…and in trying to kill her once more…I sent her here."

"Yes, but I just have one question. Why do you hate her so much that your whole life is devoted to trying to kill her?" Gohan asked.

"Because she killed my whole family."

Seventeen was annoyed. The rabbits had been eating his carrots again, despite the snares he had set out. For a moment he thought of going into the forest and killing every one he saw, then he decided he would be easier if he just left some food they could easily get to, so they wouldn't eat his crops.

Seventeen brushed her hair back, doing a reflexive check to see if his hair was greying yet. Nope, still the lovely black colour that so many females swooned over. Maybe Dr. Gero's transformation of him into an andriod would keep his hair from greying forever. Probably not, but a guy could dream.

Seventeen pulled out the half-eaten vegetables the rabbits had munched and tossed it in his compost heap, and then turned around and headed back into his cabin. He was thirsty.

From the woods, Agony watched the andriod head into his house.

"What have we here?"

Even after everything the whole room had seen and heard, there was still a shocked silence.

"But why…?" Goku said.

"Because she loves to kill! She thrives on death and pain and the way the body can break and bleed! It's her whole goddamn life! She eats, breaths and sleeps PAIN!" Erik suddenly yelled. He quickly got control of himself.

"Sorry."

"It's understandable. But why did she kill…?"

"It happened years before the Change. I was nine years old. My family was taking a vacation in a cabin we had up in the mountains…"

As he had before, Vengeance told his tragic story, how Agony and her cult had attacked his house, how they had killed his parents, how they had raped his younger sisters and made him watch, how they had cut their throats, and then how Agony, while drinking his mother and sister's blood, glass by glass, had sat in the cabin and laughed as her men, on her orders, tortured Erik for weeks before she grew bored and threw him off a cliff.

"Agony took everything from me. My family…and my humanity."

As he spoke, Erik looked up.

And then suddenly it seemed like his skin was melting, and Gohan recoiled as grey metal was revealed underneath. Practically the whole left side of Erik's face was mechanical in a hole that started at his forehead and ended with his jaw.

"She did this to me with a mace. She also destroyed my right arm and left leg beyond repair, so they had to be…replaced…as well." Erik said, as the jelly slid off his arm to reveal the whirring clicking motors and devices beneath.

"Oh god. Please, put your face back on!" Yamcha groaned. Erik looked at him and complied. In seconds the jelly had re-formed, leaving Erik looking like a human again.

"That's amazing stuff you have there." Gohan said, horrified but fasinated as well, being a scientist.

"I developed it myself. I call it FS-X. It allows me to look in a mirror without shuddering each time, but it hasn't made me forget who did this to me…and why."

"Why?" Goku asked.

"Why did she do this to me? BECAUSE SHE LOVES IT!" Erik yelled. Again he calmed himself down and apologized.

"How I became a cyborg is another story. Let's just say it had to do with the government. But it kept me imprisoned for eight years and turned me into a living weapon. Once I was free, I started hunting for Agony, but she had disappeared. I chased her for years, following every clue I could. In the end, the Change happened, and she came to me…with the most horrible power."

"Her power…what is it?" Goku asked.

"Pain. Her power is pain. Her pain and others. Every wound inflicted on her, every injury she gives, she sucks down the pain. She loves pain, her whole existence revolves around inflicting it…and getting it. And through it…she can do anything."

"Anything?" Goku said, his gorge rising.

"Maybe not anything, but I've seen telekenisis, pyrokinesis, the ability to make a body's own cells rebel, superhuman strength…and god knows what else she can do with it. But you've all seen her greatest talent, her greatest power from pain." Erik said

"Regeneration." Gohan replied, starting to feel sick as his mind made connections. "But if pain gives her power…does that mean…?"

"Yes. Every blow anyone inflicted apon her didn't hurt her, it just made her stronger. It just thrilled her, gave her a charge. Every cut, every injury, all it does is please her."

Suddenly, out of his corner, Vegeta spoke.

"How do I kill her?"

Erik looked over at the shattered saiya-jin. A lump rose in his throat. He didn't want to tell Vegeta, but it was the only answer he had, the only one he had after years of battles, years of planning, and years of failure.

"I don't know."

Vegeta's head snapped up as his eyes blazed.

"YOU DON'T KNOW?"

"I-I…I don't know. After all I've seen her do…and come back from…I don't think…it's possible."

"NO!" Vegeta screamed as he reared back and punched a hole through the wall. "NOTHING IS INVINCIBLE! NOTHING! SHE HAS TO DIE! THERE HAS TO BE A WAY!"

Erik grimanced.

"There has to be a way! I know! We'll poison her! There's gotta be some neurotoxin that will destroy her nervous system instantly! And if there isn't, we'll make one!" Vegeta said in a ramble.

"Vegeta…I've tried that."

Vegeta was snapped out of his ramble by Erik's whispered words.

"What?"

"I've tried that…she doesn't need her nervous system to live."

The next second Vegeta's hands slammed down on the table, crushing it, as he stared at Erik with mad eyes. 

"That's impossible! No human could…"

"Vegeta, SHE'S NOT HUMAN!" Erik said, standing up. He was taller then Vegeta but Vegeta has a more imposing prescence. "She wasn't human before she got the power to absorb her sole reason for living: pain! And now she's something else! The power has mutated her entire body! She feels pain even in ways that no human would feel pain! If you tickle her it hurts her! Even if you disable her nervous system she can still feel pain! I've tried everything! I've tried to drown her, crush her, poison her, rip her apart, I EVEN THREW HER INTO MOLTEN LAVA!"

Vegeta didn't back away, but in the end Erik walked away from him.

"Yeah, lava! How did she survive that? Her body kept giving her pain and the molten rock couldn't burn away her cells faster then her power could regenerate them! She's a living paradox, because she lives for kill people, to destroy life, and yet she is the ultimate example of survival! She's a blasphemy! Cut her, it heals. Cut off a limb, she can re-attach it, and failing that, she can grow a new one! Every single one of her cells, mutated by her damn power, contains a blueprint for her, and all she needs is one cell, just _one cell_, to fully regenerate herself. And since destroying her cells will cause her pain…"

Erik struggled with the next words, never believing them but unable to deny the apparent writing on the wall.

"I don't think you can kill her."

Erik looked at Vegeta.

"God forgive me, Vegeta, I don't think anyone can."

"This is INSANE! How do we defeat a foe who just gains strength from anything we can do to her? It's impossible! We may as well kill ourselves, it will be quicker that way." Yamcha yelled. Erik's final rant had driven him into a panic.

"Yamcha, listen to yourself! Muten Roshi would be ashamed to hear you giving up so easily, after all he taught you!" Goku said. He had drawn all the remaining fighters into another meeting. Erik was off studying the deaths Agony had caused in the hopes of learning something, and Vegeta had wandered off, back in his daze.

"He has a point Goku. How do we defeat a foe we can't hurt?" Krillian said. He looked scared, and after listening in silence to all the stuff Erik had told them, he was.

"Oh, we can hurt her. She just thrives on being hurt! There must be a way to get around it…" Gohan said, sitting on the table. He was constantly cleaning his glasses, which was a sure sign he was worried too.

"First we have to find her, again…" Eighteen said, sitting next to her husband.

"I'm sure she'll leave trails. She always does." Yamcha said bitterly.

"Yamcha! You disappoint me! Muten Roshi taught us never to give up, and most of all, to never give in to despair! What would he think of you, talking like that?" Goku said.

"Goku, weren't you listening? Agony killed Trunks like it was nothing! Everything he threw at her just gave her power! How do we defeat a foe like that?" Yamcha asked. He was practically on the point of tears.

Goku was silent, worry lines creasing his face.

"I don't know."

Goku clenched his right fist.

"But I'm not giving up, especially not to a monster like her! She killed my friends, and Kami help me, she's not going to get away with it!"

Erik sat, studying the map Gohan had made of Agony's path. He tried to see a pattern, but there was none. He sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Erik?"

"Yes, Gohan?" Erik replied, as the hybrid was suddenly next to him.

"In our haste to discuss…the situation, you never told us how you somehow sent Agony here. What happened?"

Erik sighed. He'd let his feelings carry him away and he had neglected that information.

"Agony attacked this scientific demonstration. She had no reason, she just wanted to kill people and eat their hearts. Did I mention she's also a cannibal?"

He hadn't, and the news shook Gohan.

"She eats hearts?"

"She doesn't have to. Her power gives her all the energy that food would provide. But she loves to devour humans, especially the hearts."

"So you're saying she took the hearts of Bra, and Trunks, and all the others so she could…" Gohan couldn't finish.

"Eat them."

Gohan was stunned into silence, and Erik continued.

"She'd butchered half the people who'd come before I showed up to stop her. Oh god, she was laughing, such a horrible sound…I've heard it so many times and it still chills me to the bone. Anyway, we fought, I hurt her, she healed, I hurt her more, and she healed again. In the process, we wound up smashing the machine that was the main focus of the demonstration, causing it to overload. I'm not sure what the machine was supposed to do, I think it was some kind of experimental matter transportation system being developed to get goods to certain places instantly. Anyway, the machine was somehow turned on and activated from the damage we caused, and it ripped this strange hole open in the air. I saw the hole, knew that wasn't right, and then hit apon the idea that maybe if this thing could transport matter, an overload could cause the transportation to screw up…"

"So you threw Agony into the rip thinking it would blow her into her component molecules or something simular."

"Yes." Erik said, his voice cracking. "I realized I had made a horrible mistake when I could _see_ through the rip. I saw Agony lying in some grass in the forest, but before I could follow her, the rip vanished. I had to shut down the machine so it wouldn't blow up on me, and then with some help, I fixed the machine and reinacted the situation. Sure enough, it opened another hole, and I found myself here…and Agony had immediately unleashed herself onto your world and I'm so so sorry…"

As Erik leaned over, clutching his face, Gohan put a friendly hand on his back.

"Don't blame yourself, Erik. If I was you, I'd have probably do the same thing."

"But all this death…is my fault! I gambled, thinking the unknown could seemingly do the impossible, and lost, oh god all the deaths she's caused I lost so badly…"

"Erik, you can't change the past, but you can try and change the future. Let's not dwell on whether you should have thrown Agony into the rip or into the machine or the wall or anything. You did it, and that's that."

Gohan watched. He could feel the torment this man from another existence was going through, the way he blamed himself for not being able to stop Agony, stop her from taking so many lives, the way he tried to take the whole world's weight on his shoulders. He found it honourable.

"I was going to ask you Erik, is there any LIMIT on Agony's power?"

"Limit?"

"Yes. I'm assuming this…Zazergas or whatever his name was had to put some limit on them, if he was stronger then her…so what is it?"

Erik sat up and thought it over.

"There's only one I can think of. She can't hurt herself."

"She can't hurt herself?"

"No, she can feed off the pain others cause her, and she can feed off other's pain, but she can't feed off any pain she inflicts on herself. If she could do that, she would be unstoppable, because she could just keep hurting herself…"

"…until she got so strong…I really don't want to think about it. I don't see how that could help us…but it's worth noting. Did you find anything from these maps?"

"No. There's no pattern at all. She's just going in crazy zig-zags killing whoever she runs across. I don't have a clue where she'll turn up next, and I know her better then anyone."

"Well, I'm sure something will happen. Now excuse me, I have to go put my little girl to bed. Will you be ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Gohan left, and Erik studied into the night.

"Are you sure you're all right to stand, Goten?" Goku asked his younger son. Morning had come, and his son had finally woken up.

"Yes Toussan. I'll be fine. I want to speak with this Erik guy. I want to know everything. Trunks must be avenged, _will_ be avenged." Goten snarled, his hair flaring into SSJ. He may have been asleep ever since the fateful night a day and a half ago, but all he could dream about was Trunks's brave sacrifice and Agony tearing his head off, over and over.

"Ok. He's staying at the Capsole Corp. Be careful Goten."

"I will, Toussan." Goten said. But Goku noticed him reach into a drawer and remove a bag of Senzu beans, which he tied to his waist before he left.

Marron had been happy. Goku had phoned her dad and told her that Goten had woken up and was all right. But her joy was quickly replace with sorrow and worry. Instead of flying right back to her arms, he had gone instead to see the strange man who claimed he knew the woman who had been commiting the mass murders. Agony, she was called. The name fit her well.

Marron understood the situation. Agony had to be stopped. Goten was the only one so far to have survived an encounter with her, and his input was needed.

But still…

Agony was perhaps the greatest foe they had ever faced, and without a doubt she was the most evil creature Marron had ever seen or heard.

But still…

More people would die if she wasn't stopped.

But still…

Marron couldn't make sense of her feelings. She understood Goten's actions, but at the same time she wanted an answer to her question of commitment. She loved Goten. She's given her virginity to him. She's watched over him as he groaned in whatever horrid nightmares he was having as fear flowed through her veins over his condition. And yet he hadn't immediately come back to her. He would come back to her, she knew, but she felt she should have been first.

Was she being selfish? She didn't know. She didn't feel comfortable speaking about her conflicting feelings to her parents, even if they understood.

So she had decided to go speak to her uncle, Seventeen. She's been very close to him as a little girl, and she'd gotten a lot of advice from him when she was growing up and faced with feelings she didn't understand and questions she just couldn't answer. They'd grown apart a bit, but she still spoke with him regularly and saw him in the cabin he lived in deep in the woods. 

She walked along the path, trying to hold onto the cell phone her mother had given her. If there were any more murders reported, Eighteen wanted Marron home as soon as possible, no matter where she was. Every step she took, Marron expected to hear it ring.

"I hope it pans out." She muttered to herself, speaking of how she had heard her dad mention a plan to wait at a city that Agony's path might intersect. "We might not know how to stop her…but at least we can _stop_ her."

Leaving crackling underfoot, Marron walked on.

Erik sat, listening, as Goten poured out the whole story of he and his late best friend's battle with Agony. When Goten got to the part where had Trunks sacrificed himself for him, he broke down in sobs. Erik comforted him as best he could, and eventually Goten was able to continue, all the while clutching a small bag in his hands.

"I thought I'd got her with the Kamehameha. I couldn't see her anywhere. But she tricked me, she'd flown behind me and…"

"Excuse me, did you say flown?"

Goten looked confused.

"Yeah, flown. She flew up behind me. It nearly got me killed, would have if it hadn't been for the guitar I was holding, because she never did it before. It was just out of the blue."

"That's because she can't fly."

Goten stared at Erik.

"Oh yeah. Well I think your info is wrong buddy, because she was flying, and it nearly killed me."

"That is impossible. I've fought her dozens of times. If she could fly she would have! I threw her into a volcano, she didn't fly out, she fell in the lava!"

"Well she was flying…"

"But how could she fly…"

Erik rose from his chair, looking at the young hybrid as he continued to sit and squeeze the bag, while trying to puzzle out this mystery.

"Where's your father? I need to speak to him." Erik asked.

"He said he was going to Syu City. The only definate path Agony is following is that she's going down the map in a zig-zag. We're hoping that maybe she'll show up in the city or near it…keep her from killing people…maybe take her measure…"

"Shit." Erik said. "Are you strong enough to give me a lift?"

"Uncle!" Marron called. "It's your favorite niece!" she called again as she walked onto the cleared away section the path to the woods emptied out. She waited for his reply, which was always "You're my only niece!"

But it didn't come.

"Uncle? Uncle Seventeen?" Marron called. She came to his crops, but he wasn't there. 

"Uncle?"

Coming to his cabin, Marron circled it, but he wasn't anywhere around it. She came around to his front door.

It was jammed.

Marron tried to open it. It wouldn't budge.

"Uncle? Are you in there?"

No response. Marron tried the door again.

Suddenly, it burst open, and she fell into the cabin.

Marron quickly got to her feet and looked around. The cabin was deserted, neat and tidy the way her uncle liked it. It looked like he had just stepped out.

Confused, Marron looked around the cabin for a note or something, but there was nothing. Confused, Marron walked out of the cabin, shutting the door behind her.

"Where is he?" she said. Maybe he'd gone fishing, or food shopping…?

Then she felt something drip onto her head.

"UGH! Stupid birds…" Marron's voice trailed off as she lifted her fingers up to brush the birdshit away. But she didn't feel any sticky goo that signaled a bird had crapped in her hair. Instead she felt a sticky liquid.

She brought her fingers down to her face.

Blood.

Marron glanced up.

And then the body of Seventeen landed on her.

Marron screamed and hurridly threw the body off of her as she tried to get to her feet so fast she fell down again.

"Oh kami…oh my kami…oh Jesus…" she said in pure fear as she tried to get away. Her uncle's mouth was locked open and his eyes, now glazed over, blazed with terrible pain. He had died screaming.

The rest of his body was a mess of broken bones and tissue. His blood was all over her, and as she finally got to her feet, she saw his chest was ripped open, the heart gone.

"Well well well."

Marron looked up at the woman now standing on the roof. Hey eyes widened even more. It was her. She knew it. The killer. Agony. And Agony had killed her uncle, one of the best fighters in the world.

"Oh kami oh kami oh kami…" she said over and over as she backed away from the horrible woman with the demon eyes, as she stared at her in pleasure of another kill. _Oh god her eyes her eyes I have to get away…_

"I was in the mood for a girl after all the men I've feasted on. And what do you know, one comes right to me." Agony said, as she lifted and took the last bite of Seventeen's heart.

"OH GOD! HELP ME!" Marron screamed as she turned and ran for her life.

"Go ahead and run little girl. I let one soul get away. I'm not about to let another." Agony whispered, his voice as cruel and cold as an icicle.

Krillian was doing pushups while his wife spoke on the phone with Videl. There had been no sightings according to Gohan, but the day was young…

A beeping sounded on the phone itself.

"Hold on, will you Videl? I've got another call." Eighteen said, and pressed the button. "Hello?"

"MOM!!!!!!!!!" Marron's voice came screaming from the phone. It was so loud Krillian could hear it across the room. He leapt to his feet as Eighteen stood up, her eyes wide with fear.

"Marron?"

"HELP ME! GOD HELP ME! SHE'S AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Marron's voice cut off in a hail of static as something caused the phone to cut off.

A second later both Krillian and Eighteen were out the door and in the air, blasting with desperate fear towards the woods where their daughter had gone.

Marron didn't know what happened. She was running along, screaming into the phone, her hand shaking so bad she was afraid she was going to drop it, when Agony suddenly materialized in front of her.

"Going somewhere?"

Marron put on the brakes so fast she fell down again. The phone flew from her sweat soaked hand. Agony reached out, caught it in mid-air, and crushed it with a crackling snap.

"Running for your life and you're still talking on the phone. You teenagers these days." Agony mocked, smiling her twisted, lopsided grin. Marron got up and took off the opposite way, fear and adrenaline driving her to speeds she didn't think were possible.

"Oh god oh jesus oh buhhda oh zeus oh _anybody_ help me, help me!" Marron wheezed as she ran from Agony. She burst back into the clear area her late Uncle's house was in, not knowing what to do or where to go but only knowing she had to get away from Agony and those eyes…

Then Agony materialized in front of her again. This time, she couldn't stop as Agony reached out and grabbed her sweater, yanking her off her feet.

"Oh please oh please don't hurt me don't hurt me..." Marron stammered, her jeans suddenly obtaining a spreading damp patch in the front. 

Agony smiled.

"Your fear is delicious. But your pain will be better, so…no."

Fangs grew in Agony's mouth and Marron's eyes opened as wide as they could as Agony brought her other hand up and transformed it into a barbed pair of scissors.

Agony licked her lips and drew back the scissors.

And then Krillian dove out out of the sky and smashed Agony with a kick, which hit her so hard it sounded like a rifle shot. Agony was hurled backwards and crashed into Seventeen's cabin, which collapsed on her.

"Daddy." Marron squeeked as her father landed next to her as she fell to her knees. Then Eighteen landed next to her daughter.

"Mommy!" Marron cried, grabbing her mother. "It's her…she killed Uncle Seventeen…oh god KEEP HER AWAY FROM ME!" Marron sobbed.

"Run, Marron." Krillian said in dead seriousness.

"NO! Daddy, she's the devil himself! She's a lunatic! She'll kill you!"

"You heard your father, Marron. Run. We'll distract her until you're a safe distance." Eighteen said with the same voice. But Marron wouldn't let go of her mother.

"There is no safe distance from her! Oh god oh god oh god!" Marron screamed as the cabin began to move.

"Marron, you can't fly. We can. We'll lead her around until you're far away, then we'll follow you." Eighteen said in her best mother assuring tone.

"You promise?" Marron asked.

"Yes, I promise. We'll be fine. Go."

Marron took a last look at her mother and father as they stood together, and then she was running, fleeing, grateful that she could run and yet hating herself for leaving her parents.

Agony stood up from the wreckage, non-chalantly yanking a hunk of wood out of her shoulder and then pulling another hunk out of her thigh.

"One flees, and instead I get two souls. Not a bad deal." Agony smiled.

Then her smile and her face were broken by a combined punch from Krillian and Eighteen. Agony staggered back as her face began to heal, but then Krillian and Eighteen attacked again, launching a merciless assault on Agony and tag-teaming her as they kicked her all over the wooded area. They were relentless, but eventually Agony's wounds began to heal faster and faster from their blows, and she began to laugh as they hit her each time.

They flew up into the air and let loose with a combined blast. Agony vanished in explosions.

The couple waiting, panting,

And then Eighteen screamed and suddenly clutched her shoulder as blood erupted from a wound. Agony suddenly blurred into existence above them, her hands having formed into knives again. Before Krillian could react, she dove at him, tearing a long twisting wound down his leg. He screamed and grabbed it as blood began to pour out, exploding from his shin in ten-inch squirts.

"How can she move so fast? She couldn't before!" Krillian yelled. Eighteen grimanced.

"AH HA HA HA!" Agony laughed. "You thought your little gang up would save you? No way! Your fate is no different from the others: you're mine, heart and so-gurrk!" she gurgled as Krillian threw a Kienzien right through her neck. Her head cut off, it started to fall off before black energy leapt up and grabbed it, sealing it back on. She looked as Krillian, laughing.

"Nice tr-ARGH!" she screamed as Eighteen smashed into her from behind. Krillian blurred into existence in front of her and kicked her straight up into the air, feeling bones snap that would mend instantly as she zapped towards the sky like a geyser.

""Krillian, NOW!" Eighteen screamed, and Krillian put his plan into action. As Agony flew into the air, and as his wife zapped above her, Krillian pointed to a good sized tree. Effortlessly, though his ki, he pulled it from the ground, stripped the branches from it, and then shot four rapid-fire Kienziens at it, sharpening one end and turning the tree into a gigantic spear. Holding the spear mentally, he flew upwards with it.

Eighteen laced her hands together and brought them down on Agony with as much force as she could, sending Agony back first into the ground.

"You dare to try and kill my daughter? No fucking way, get my POINT?" Krillain yelled and hurled the spear at Agony. She was getting up as the spear lanced right through her chest, the tree being so big it carried all her organs out the back with it as the point burst from her back and imbedded itself into the ground. Agony screamed, the huge tree pinning her.

"Let's get out of here, honey!" Eighteen yelled, and the couple took off as Agony pulled herself together and yanked her body to the side, ripping herself right off the giant spear. As she looked at Krillian flying away, she smiled and pointed her finger at him.

Krillian stopped in mid-air, unable to move. Eighteen stopped and turned around, surprise in her eyes.

"Krillian? Come on, we have to…oh no, what's wrong?"

"I can't breathe!" he gasped, holding his chest. "The air…it feels like I'm trying to breathe cement! Oh kami, I CAN'T BREATHE!"

Krillian gasped as his lungs tried to take in air that seemed to grow heavier by the second as Agony, even as her organs flew back into place and her bone and muscle structure began to reform, flew up into the air.

Eighteen was panicking, as the man she loved began to turn blue from lack of air he just couldn't seem to get in his lungs and his skin suddenly seemed to start pressing on his bones.

"STOP IT!" she screamed, turning to Agony "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"

Agony smiled.

"Ok." She said, and snapped her fingers. 

Then Krillian began to scream in horrible pain, and Eighteen turned towards him as blood erupted from his nose, mouth, and ears.

"NO!" she screamed.

"OH GOD! THE PAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Krillian howled as his blood literally boiled in his veins. His white eyes suddenly turned red as all the blood vessals in them exploded and he fell to the ground.

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!" Eighteen screamed as her husband fell to the ground in a racking spasm of sheer torture. So wrapped up was he in trying to get rid of the pain he never noticed where he was falling.

His head struck a rock and Eighteen heard a sickening crunch as his neck twisted so hard the muscles ripped. His cartariod arteries were ripped open from the strain, soaking the ground with blood.

"Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!" Eighteen wailed as she landed and cradled her husband in her arms. Tears sprang in her eyes as she felt for a pulse. There was none.

"Krillian." She sobbed. She's never throught that simple kiss given as a joke would have given her such happiness she had had in life, and most of it had revolved around the man she had grown to love.

"AH HA HA HA HA HA! OOPS!" Agony laughed as she landed next to Eighteen. Eighteen turned eyes full of fury and the desire for revenge on the woman as she laughed at her husband's death.

"YOU…BITCH!"

Eighteen flew at Agony, screaming her rage, as she slammed an energy covered fist right through Agony's chest.

And realized, as her arm suddenly went numb and she looked in horror into Agony's soul-shredding eyes, that was _exactly what Agony had wanted her to do._

Then Agony reached out and grabbed Eighteen's head, and she screamed as something jolted her and her insides suddenly felt like they were on fire.

And then she _was_ on fire, a horrible fire that erupted from inside her body. As her flesh fried and her organs cooked, Eight opened her mouth even as her tongue exploded from the heat and said her final word.

"Marron."

Then her brain was cooked, and her burning body fell at Agony's feet, twitching. Agony rolled her eyes and sighed heavenly as she sucked in Eighteen's horrendous pain from her death.

"Don't worry about blondie. She's next."

Marron was utterly frantic as she flew with Goten. She's run all the way home, a good two miles, not even noticing the fact that her lungs were on fire. From there she'd found Gohan, who had been sent by Videl to check things out when her mother hadn't come back on the line. Marron sobbed out the story, Gohan got on his phone, and within minutes the whole gang was there, even Yamcha, who was scared but not going to back down. The last one to arrive was Goten with the stranger, Erik, and they had all taken off, looking for her parents. 

"They said they'd come back. They said they'd come back…" was all Marron could say, trying to keep down her fear with her mother's promise to follow her.

They landed in the clearing where Seventeen had lived. Goku, Vegeta, Ubuu, and Yamcha all spread out, looking for any sign of Agony, while Erik went to examine Seventeen and Goten stayed with Marron, holding her as she repeated her mantra over and over.

"Oh Jesus." Erik swore when he saw Seventeen. He knelt and examined that nature of his mutilation as Gohan came up behind him, looking ill.

"What killed him?"

"From the nature of his injuries…it looks like Agony…grabbed his head and feet…and then began twisting each part in opposite directions…" Erik said, sickened. Realizing that Agony had killed Seventeen by grabbing him with energy and then wringing him out like a dishtowel, Gohan promptly threw up again. Erik was thankful he had enough sense to turn away to do it.

"HEY!" Came Yamcha's voice. "OVER HERE!"

Goku was the first to arrive at the horrible scene. He saw it and froze. 

"Oh no……"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Marron sobbed, suddenly breaking past him. She fell to her knees between her dead father and mother and cradled the body of her father in her hands. More blood got on her, mixing with her uncle's, but she didn't care.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! PAPA! MAMA! PAPA! MAMA!" Marron sobbed, as if her cries could somehow bring them back to life. One by one, the Z fighters arrived, gaping at the horrible sight. Goten looked the worst, but he immediately went to Marron's side and held her, and she turned into his shoulder to sob.

"They said they'd come back! THEY SAID THEY'D COME BACK!" Marron cried, and then broke down and could only wail. Goten held her, feeling her tears soak his shirt and swearing that what Vegeta was going to do when he got his hands on Agony was nothing compared to what _he_ was going to do.

"She is a monster." Vegeta said solemnly. The fresh deaths brought back horrible memories of his son and daughter and he bit down on his tongue to repress the pain.His pain swiftly mingled with the rage that he had just missed her.
    
    "WHY DIDN'T THEY RUN? WHY!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!" Marron wailed.

__

Because child, no one escapes from Agony unless she wants them too. No one. Erik thought. He lowered his head and let his rage build at the woman who had no right to live.

There was a sudden crackling, and everyone looked up as Goku screamed and exploded straight into SSJ3. He was so mad he was able to skip the first two stages altogether.

"FIRST TIEN, THEN TRUNKS, AND NOW KRILLIAN! NO MORE! YOU'RE DEAD, AGONY! DO YOU HEAR ME! YOU'RE DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Goku roared.

His scream echoed throughout the forest, mixing with Marron's sobs.

"How did they die?" Gohan asked. At Erik's request, they'd taken the bodies to Capsole Corp, where Erik had examined them. Only Gohan and Goku remained. Yamcha was off somewhere else, Goten was trying to comfort his hysterical Marron, who hadn't stopped crying for hours, and Vegeta was visiting Bulma, although there had been no change in her condition.

Erik looked haunted, a terrible look for someone as strong as he was.

"As far as I can tell…Krillian died from a broken neck. But what's worse is that his body shows that even if he hadn't…he would have died of "the bends"."

"The what?" Goku said, looking confused.

"The bends, Dad, is a condition that divers can get if they rise to the surface too rapidly. You see, there's a certain amount of air pressure that's always pressing on you, but your body is built so it doesn't affect you. But if you do certain things, like, go deep underwater, the pressure on you begins to increase. If you do something while under the increased air pressure that causes the pressure to rapidly _decrease_, part of your chemicals in your blood and body tissues forms into a gas and starts to…bubble." Gohan said as a sick feeling came into his stomach. Goku looked like he had trouble understanding, but apparently he got the general gist.

"What can this bubbles do?"

"They damage tissues. The worse the air pressure, the more violent the bubbles…" Erik said, shaking his head. "Krillian's body was an utter mess inside."

"But that's impossible! Krillian was nowhere near any body of water! He couldn't have been exposed to high pressure…unless…" Gohan said in horror.

"Unless Agony somehow _willed_ the pressure around him to increase." Erik concluded

Goku got it now and his face went pure white again.

"So Agony…" he began. Not wanting to believe that this could happen, no wanting to believe that someone could actually _do_ this.

"Agony somehow increased the air pressure around Krillian to something like a hundred times normal. It must have been like trying to breathe tar. But that wasn't her torture. It was suddenly dispelling the pressure instantly. Krillian's own blood reacted so violently it tore his own body to shreds from the inside. If he hadn't broken his neck, his heart would have exploded, it would have been so bad. But I can't check the condition of his heart. Agony took it."

Goku sat down with a thump.

"How can someone be so…" Goku said. His mind was gone, his inability to understand or grasp the depth of Agony's insanity or evil completely overwhelming him. 

The door opened, and Goten walked in.

"Marron cried herself to sleep, finally. Oh god, I feel so bad…" Goten said. "What happened to them?"

Erik repeated the Krillian situation. Goten turned a simular shade of white his father sported as he listened.

"And Eighteen?"

"You didn't tell me she was an andriod. But Agony knew. I don't know how. And she zapped Eighteen with an EMP."

Gohan instantly understood and turned green at the realization. Goten took longer but when it came to him it came to him hard.

"OH GOD!" he said. "THAT FUCKING BITCH!"

Goten reared back and left a dent in the metal wall with his fist.

"What's an EMP?" Goku asked.

"Electromagnetic pulse. It's an invisible wave that knocks out anything electrical it touches. Actually, causes anything electrical to violently destroy itself would be more accurrate. Since Eighteen was an andriod…"

"…Agony fried her from the inside with her own systems. Oh dear Kami…" Gohan shuddered, trying to imagine how horrible it must have been for Eighteen, her own systems lighting her body on fire from inside her as they went up in flames themselves. No wonder her body had been so badly burnt.

"But how could she do that? EMP's are usually only produced when nuclear bombs go off. Even if she could generate one with her ability, those things spread out for miles and knock everything out! There's been no reporting of any power outages at all!" Goten said.

"Unless Agony somehow just willed one into existence through her power that would just kill Eighteen." Goku said quietly in a rare burst of intelligence.

"No! She couldn't do that! She couldn't do that any more then she could increase the air pressure around just one single thing! It's impossible, even for her! She can't defy the laws of physics!" Erik said in a torrent.

"Well, the writing is on the wall, or more precisely, the bodies are in the morgue! If she had morph her body parts into weapons, why can't she do what killed our friends. Do you really know the scope of her abilities, Erik?" Gohan argued. All the death as starting to get to him, and tempers were starting to flare.

"Yes! I know her better then anyone! Her abilities are terrible, but they are limited!" Erik retorted

"Well, she appears to have scaled back those limits somehow!" Goten said.

"How?"

"Maybe she figured out how to use ki." Goku suggested, still sitting on the floor.

"Nuh uh. Ki would never serve such a corrupt soul. Even it has its limits! Agony makes Freiza look like an angel!" Goten said.

"Unless…"

And then the puzzle pieces began to fall together, and a great fear filled Erik's heart.

"Goku, you claim you can speak with the god of this world, right?"

"You mean Dende? Yeah, I can just contact Kaiou-sama and speak to Dende through him. Why?"

"Call him. But before you do, I need to know something. What kind of force is ki?"

"Ki? It's a life force. It's part of the whole structure of living things." Goku replied. "Why?"

"I don't know. Call Dende, I need to speak with Marron!"

"What? No! She just fell asleep!" Goten protested. But Erik was already out the door, and Goten chased after him, protesting that if he was gonna wake Marron up Erik should at least speak to her through him.

__

Kaiou-sama!

Goku! Oh god, I've been watching the murders, that woman is the devil herself!

I know! All too well! Look, I need to speak to the Kami!

Dende? What for?

A friend's request. Please hurry.

Ok, ok, damn, what am I, your own personal telephone…?

Some time later, Erik returned with Goten, looking even more ill.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Do you have him?"

"Yes. He wants to know what you want."

"Ask him how Krillian and Eighteen's souls are doing."

"Oh, you wouldn't want Dende, you'd want Emma. But Dende can speak with him. Just a second." Goku said. A conversation took place inside his head.

"Ok, Dende has spoken to Emma. Emma says…."

Then Goku heard the message, and his face fell.

"Emma says he hasn't seen Krillian OR Eighteen. And he's seen Krillian twice, he says he would recognize him if he saw him."

The sick feeling in Erik's heart reached an all time high as his terrible theory looked to be coming true.

"Ask him about the other souls of the mass murdering sprees, including Trunks and co, how they're doing." Erik said.

Goku relayed it and listened. His face went into shock.

"He says there haven't been souls from a mass murder spreed. He hasn't seen Trunks, or Tien, or anybody Agony has killed. He doesn't know anything about a mass murderer killing a bunch of people and he says that if that many souls showed up sent by one person, he'd know…"

Erik fell into a chair behind him, his eyes wide and horrified.

"Dear god."

"What?" Goku said, breaking off his communication.

"It's true. I didn't want to believe it, but it's true."

"What's true?" Gohan asked.

"She's taunted me with it for a long time, but I wouldn't believe her. Agony said that she could steal souls…"

"WHAT!?!??!?!?!?!?" Goku yelled.

"It's true. She taunted Marron about it, and Marron also heard her taunt her parents about it as she ran away. And if their souls, or any of the others haven't come to Emma's, then that means…"

"…She imprisoned them in HERSELF? HOW CAN SHE DO THAT?" Goku said.

"It's worse then that, Goku. You say ki is a life force. Well, what is the strongest part of life in a person?"

Goku was stunned silent again.

"The…soul."

"Yes. And if ki is a life force, that means that the ki must linked to the soul. And that means that Agony didn't just take their lives, she took their _kis_ as well."

Goten stared in horror. That's why Agony didn't fly before. She couldn't…_UNTIL SHE STOLE THE ABILITY FROM TRUNKS!_

The whole process was barreling out of control in Goku's mind. He didn't want Erik to say the next words, didn't want to hear them, didn't want to _accept _it, it was just so _wrong._

"Which means that Agony has absorbed the powers of everyone she's killed. And used that power to scale back the limitations what she can do. She's now even stronger then the last time I fought her, and if she keeps killing people…people with such power…like you and your families…" 

Erik lowered his head.

"Then God help us all."

Goku's next words were a mere squeek.

"But besides us, who else had that much power that she can kill?"

Far away, Agony ripped the heart from the chest of a giant Indian, of all people, she had found camping with another man and woman, apparently man and wife, at the foot of a strange structure. They'd died easily, and been quite tasty. Agony sealed away their souls for eternal torture along with Krillian's, Eighteen's and Seventeen's.

Munching on Bora's heart, Agony looked at the structure, a strange pole that seemingly went on forever into the sky.

Karin Tower.

"Well, what have we here?"

And back at the Capsole Corperation, the realization hit Son Goku like a bolt of lighting.

"DENDE!"

__

To Be Continued


	5. Perfect V

Chapter 5

Mr. Popo was confused. He could have sworn that he had heard a loud clanging and then loud scratching at the edge of the tower, but his repeated checks had revealed no cause of the noise. Mr. Popo wondered if he should take one of Dende's jokes seriously and go get his hearing checked.

But he was pretty sure it wasn't his hearing, because he kept hearing it. But every time he went to look, there was nothing. He wondered if one of the Z Fighters was playing a practical joke on him, but with that insane killer loose on the planet he doubted any of them had the free time to go up to the top of Kami Tower to annoy him.

His constant trips to the edge had finally caught the attention of Dende, who was busy trying to find Agony for Son Goku. He hadn't had much luck, with Agony somehow always managing to evade him by the time her prescene was known. It was very frustrating, considering that longer her location remained unknown, the more people who could die.

"Are you all right, Mr. Popo?" Dende asked. He grimaced. Although he was nearly an adult by Namekian standards, he still had a very boyish voice. Trunks, god rest his soul, used to tease him about it when he was a kid. Now Trunks would never tease anyone ever again…or at least for a while.

"Yes Kami. It's just that I keep hearing strange noises and I can't seem to locate their source!" Mr. Popo replied, leaning over the tower edge and looking at the wall that sloped downward at an angle to form the bowl shape that floated in the air above Karin Tower.

"Noises? What kind of noises?" Dende asked, walking out of the small shrine he was in and heading towards Mr. Popo and he stood and turned around to look at the young Namek who was the God of Earth.

"It's nothing Kami. Probably just some birds who keep flying-ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Mr. Popo suddenly screamed as a sword burst through his chest.

"MR. POPO!" Dende screamed, as Mr. Popo was lifted off the ground, screaming all the way as Agony, who had shoved the sword right through his back, lifted him above her head and hurled him over the edge of the tower. The sword slid out of him as Mr. Popo fell, screaming, like some kind of bleeding meteor.

His eyes wide with shock and his heart pounding like a hammer, Dende could only make small noises of fear in his throat as Agony looked at him with her horrible eyes and licked the blood right off the blade.

"He had a lousy summer, so he's making it up by having a great _fall_." Agony chuckled, as Mr. Popo's soul entered her heart as his body splattered like a raw egg on the Earth so far far below. She looked at the little Namek who looked like he would die of fear.

"How…how…" Dende stammered as the woman, oh god the evil radiating from her was beyond comprehension. Although Namekians weren't reknowned for their sense of smell, they had been blessed with certain sensitivities as their species had evolved. One of them was an exceptional ability to smell the scent blood gave off. This helped them track down wounded comrades and prey before their bodies had evolved to only have to drink water. But the ability remained, if anything it grew stronger, because Namekians could smell anything that had had blood spilled on it, even if the blood had been there fifty years ago. The scent never truly left.

Agony stank of blood, _reeked_ of it. The smell of death coming off her her was so strong Dende has to start breathing only through his mouth. He swore if he smelt the stench of death Agony gave off any more, he would either choke or go mad.

"I found this tower, and I climbed it, and there was this white cat and fat guy on top of it. God, the guy was so fat it splattered all over me when I tore him apart. The cat said that Kami would avenge this, so I asked who this Kami was and the cat said he was the god of all and that he was up here. I think he thought that if he told me I would spare him. No dice. I speared him on this sword the fat guy had and ate him instead. Tasty, but too much fur." Agony said, spitting. Dende started backing away. The sword Agony had, the sword she'd used to kill Mr. Popo, oh god it _was Yajirobie's sword._

"I always wanted to kill a god…" Agony purred, as she advanced on the terrified Namek. "So I headed up here. Now why don't you tell me where this god is, I'm getting hungry again and you look so tasty…" Agony said, her terrible eyes filled with delight as she stared at Dende.

Dende realized two things. If he ran, she would just chase him until she caught him. He had to fight. Because he was Kami, and if he died, so would the Dragonballs, and possibly the hope of reviving all the people Agony had killed.

"I am Kami." Dende said in a far braver voice then he was feeling, as he stopped backing away and stood fast.

Agony stared at him, blood dripping from her lips. She's cut her tongue licking the sword, and she couldn't heal it because she'd made the cut. But this little green man who claimed to be god was sure to defend himself. Not only would his blows be heavenly to her, it would deal with her cut tongue.

Then the whole idea of the little green man being god struck her fully, and she began to laugh, horrible laughter filled with malice.

"YOU'RE GOD? YOU?"

Dende nodded, preparing to attack. But Agony was lost in her terrible laughter. It sent chills down Dende's spine.

"You, little green man, are god? You? Shouldn't you be getting ready to steal Christmas or something? Who created this universe, DR. SEUSS?" Agony howled. Dende's fear, which he was doing his best job to keep from overwhelming him, increased. This woman was truly mad.

Then Agony stopped laughing and stared at Dende, that horrible lust back in her eyes.

"Well, I may not like green eggs and ham, but I do want to know how the heart of a god will taste."

Agony started forward.

Dende threw his hands out and threw several ki balls at Agony. They exploded on her body, tearing and burning away the flesh where they struck, but they didn't even stagger her, they didn't even slow her down, as she walked towards Dende, a slow walk that was somehow evil in itself.

Dende began backing away again, throwing more ki balls. They struck Agony, but the wounds just healed. Energy lanced from Dende's eyes and enveloped Agony in the smoke of an explosion, and Dende followed it up with about a thousand energy bolts, which threw a great plume of smoke into the air above Kami Tower.

Dende stood, panting and exhausted. He wasn't a warrior and the combat attacks had worn him out quickly.

Then Agony emerged from the smoke. Dende gasped in fear as he saw the wounds he had inflicted rapidly vanish. In a second there wasn't even any tears in Agony's costume. Dende began backing away again. He only got a few more steps before he reached the edge of Kami Tower.

Dende's heart filled with icy fear. There was no where left to run. Then he cried out as Agony reached forward and grabbed him, lifting him up and staring into his eyes with her horrible eyes. Dende twisted away, refusing to look into her eyes, which radiated damnation and all consuming evil.

"You disappoint me. If the God of this world is so weak, then this world is doomed. No, it's doomed whether you're weak or strong. For I am beyond both." Agony chuckled. She snapped up her other hand as her fingers formed into barbed knives again.

"I have never tasted a god's flesh…until now." Agony said, reaching forward to rip the most delicious-looking chunk off.

"MAKKANKOSAPPO!"

Agony turned her head just in time to receive the screw-shaped beam of energy right in the face. Then she was flying as the blast threw her into one of the larger shrines and detonated with a tremendous explosion, throwing rocks shards everywhere and shaking Kami's Tower.

Dende fell to the ground, the front of his outfit torn. He looked up in amazement. He saw a white cloak floating in the wind and a green head topped with an ever-present turban.

"PICCOLO!"
    
    Ubuu was sitting and trying to read a book when Son Goku burnt into the room.

"UBUU! COME ON! WE HAVE TO GET TO KAMI TOWER RIGHT NOW! AGONY'S GOING AFTER DENDE!"

"Dende?" Ubuu said, leaping to his feet. He had never seen his teacher in a panic before, but Goku was definitely in one.

"We have to go! Now! Pray we're not too late!" Goku said. Behind him Goten appeared with Yamcha.

"Gohan's making sure Videl and Pan are ok. Erik's gone to get Vegeta…"

"WE CAN'T WAIT! We have to fly! NOW!" Goku said. Goten looked at his father. His father only acted like this when they were out of food, his mom hadn't had time to go shopping, and he was hungry. But he could understand. If Agony killed Dende, the Dragonaballs would be gone. Or even worse, her twisted ability to steal the souls and thus the powers of the people she had killed might somehow give her the ability to control the Dragonballs herself…

…or make whole new ones to do anything she wished…

Goten ground his teeth. It wouldn't happen that way. Not while he was still alive.

Goku was still running around in a panic, screaming about how he needed to know where the door was. He kept it up until Ubuu grabbed his arm.

"Sensei! Why don't you just use Instantaneous Movement?"

Goku stopped dead. Ubuu was right, in his panic that Dende was the only one with powers Agony could go after had made him forget that.

"You're right! Gohan, get everyone and follow as quickly as possible! I'll teleport ahead! I hope we're not too late!"

As Erik entered, Vegeta on his heels, Goku brought up two fingers to his head as he found he tried to find a ki on Kami Tower.

__

Where's Mr. Popo? Or Karin…oh GOD NO DON'T LET THEM BE…wait, there's Dende's! He's alive!

"Wait!" Erik yelled.

Too late. Goku's image blurred out as he vanished, teleporting to Kami Tower.

"Take us with you." Erik finished. His voice was a snarl in his frustration that he hadn't gotten back to Goku in time.

"Let's go. This time, she's not escaping me." Vegeta said. His voice was so angry it nearly blistered the paint. He picked up Erik and flew right through the roof of the Capsole Corp headquarters, as he went SSJ in an emerging vengeful rage.

Goku blurred into existence on Kami Tower. The first thing that caught his eye was an ever-familiar white cloak.

"Piccolo!" Goku called up to the Namekian warrior. "You made it back!"

"Yes." Piccolo said in his familiar raspy voice. "It appears I got home just in time."

Goku then noticed that Dende was hiding behind Piccolo, and they both were staring at a wrecked temple whose wreckage was starting to shake. Goku flew up to Piccolo's side.

"Is that her?" Goku asked Dende.

"Yes…oh god Goku, she killed Mr. Popo, Karin, and Yajarobie. You must stop her! Her bloodlust is beyond anything I have ever seen!" Dende said. Goku looked at the young Namek. Ruling Earth had matured him greatly, but his encounter with Agony had terrfied him so bad that he was regressing back into a child-like state.

"Don't worry Dende. I can handle a lunatic woman." Piccolo said, his eyes not moving from the wreckage. But they did move when Goku grabbed his shoulder.

"Piccolo, whatever you do, _don't underestimate her._ She feeds off her own pain for strength! Every time you strike a blow, she just gets stronger from it! She feeds off other's pain as well! She's virtually unstoppable!"

Piccolo glanced at the saiya-jin that had once been his worst enemy and was amazed at what he saw. After all the times he had fought and fought beside Son Goku, he had never seen him look so…_haunted._

"Piccolo, she's killed Trunks. And Krillian too. She's a demon."

"So am I, Son. So am I." Piccolo replied, turning his eyes back onto the wreckage as Agony pulled herself from it.

At first glance Piccolo thought Son Goku had some bad information. This woman didn't even have any ki. She was atheletic looking but frail, and most of all, she had a huge chunk of stone right through her stomach. Her blood was soaking the broken stone around her.

"She looks like she's on the verge of death. I'll finish her myself, for the honour of our fallen warriors." Piccolo said as he pulled his hat off and then cast off his cloak. He was about to fly at Agony when Goku grabbed him by the shoulder again.

"Look."

Agony yanked the chunk of rock from her, pulling out most of her guts with it.

And then Piccolo's eyes widened as the guts were suddenly pulled back into the huge hole in Agony's stomach. They widened even more as the hole sealed itself. Almost instantaneously, Agony was again unhurt.

__

And she looked happy while it had happened.

"She can regenerate." Piccolo said. His voice was unemotional, but inside his heart there was a tiny twinge of fear. He remembered the abilities of Perfect Cell and Majinn Buu to recover from normally mortal injuries by simply grow their parts back. If this woman had them too, she was going to be tough to kill.

"It's worse then that Piccolo. Pain gives her power, and thus causes the regeneration. Thus…"

"…every wound I inflict on her will heal her and makes her stronger." Piccolo replied. A bitter taste was forming in his mouth.

Agony looked at Yajarobie's sword, which was still in her hand. However, the blade had broken off.

"Stupid piece of crap." She muttered as she tossed the hilt aside and looked up at Goku and Piccolo. "Hey, it's a _big_ green man! And another guy! Two for the price of one, again!" Agony said. Even Piccolo felt chilled. Even Freiza hadn't had such evil in his voice.

"Piccolo…" Goku began.

And then suddenly Agony was right in their faces. Goku's eyes widened. _How?_

And then Piccolo screamed as a rusty sword blade that had once been Agony's hand and forearm came slashing down, severing his arm at the shoulder. Blood sprayed, on Goku and Agony, and she laughed, the laugh of a madman, as she turned to Goku. As Piccolo fell to the tower, the pain briefly overcoming him. Agony slashed at Goku, trying to take his head off like she did with Trunks. Goku ducked under the blade, but Agony just let the momentum spin her around as she twisted her leg at an impossible angle, the back of her boot forming into another barbed blade which she swung to gut Goku like a fish.

He barely made it, as he twisted his stomach inward the blade sliced through his gi and opened a long but superficial cut across his muscular stomach. Blood flew out as Goku tumbled away from Agony, landing on his butt. He looked up to see that Dende had gotten clear, had flown away and was watching from a distance, and then he sat up to see that his lap was full of blood.

__

Her speed…she must have stolen that also from Krillian and co…but if each soul makes her stronger, that means she could be as fast as Krillian, Trunks, Tien, Eighteen, and Chaozu combined! Oh god!

Piccolo's teeth were clenched hard as he got up, holding his bleeding stump, as Agony landed before him. She picked up his severed arm, and in an action that made even Piccolo feel sick, raised it to her mouth and took a bite out of it. The only thing that gave Piccolo any saitisfaction was that she immediately spat it out.

"PLEEHHHH! You taste terrible!" Agony spat. "Well, you'll be the lucky one, green man! If you taste that bad I won't eat your heart, but I certainly want to see what it looks like!"

Piccolo stood to his full height and roared in pain as his new arm popped out, coated in birthing liquids. He looked at Agony and smiled at the shock on her face. His fangs glittered.

"She gets stronger from pain. Well, I'LL JUST WORK AROUND IT!" Piccolo roared, and leapt at Agony, punching her in the jaw so hard it tore it right off. Pistoning his fingers, Piccolo tore through Agony's chest, punched through her rib cage, wrapped her fingers around her beating heart, and with a scream, tore it right out.

Agony screamed and bent over, clutching her chest, and then looked up, laughing. Stunned, Piccolo looked at the organ he now held in his hand.

The heart was as black as night.

And it was _still beating._

Then the heart snapped from his hand and flew back into Agony's chest, the hole sealing behind it, even as new flesh erupted from Agony's skull and formed a new jaw. Agony laughed and leapt at Piccolo, who threw his hand up and let loose with a huge blast that burnt half her flesh off and sent her flying across the tower.

With a dull _clack_, Goku landed beside Piccolo. Piccolo glanced at the saiya-jin and saw the blood oozing from his stomach.

"Don't worry, it's just a scratch." Goku said. "Kami, she's even worse then I thought. I didn't actually think there could be a creature that thrives on pain and death like her, but seeing it now…I know. And I know she has to die."

Piccolo looked at Goku's face, a stone mask of deadly seriousness. The face he always wore when he was going into battle. If Goku said that Agony had to die, then the crimes she must have commited were beyond Piccolo's comprehension. Goku gave every foe he fought chance after chance, no matter what they had done. If Goku was showing no mercy…

Piccolo looked at Agony as she got to her feet, a wide grin on her face as the last of her flesh healed. She licked her lips as if surveying a platter of appetizers.

"I told Dende to run and head to the Capsole Corp. He'll be safe there, for now. Everyone who's left is on their way. I was planning to get Dende and run, but I can't do that now, not after seeing her. If we let her get away again…there's no telling what she could do." Goku said solemnly.

Despite the grave situation, Piccolo smiled.

"Just like old times, eh Son?" Piccolo said, as he remembered a battle fought so long ago, as he and Goku, enemies at the time, had teamed for the first time to fight a common foe in Garlic Junior. Now they were together again, fighting a foe that was so much worse.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Agony yelled, flying at Son Goku and Piccolo. The two exchanged one last glance at each other and then locked eyes with Agony as they both yelled, Piccolo powering up to his maximum and Goku exploding into the SSJ2 state.

Then Agony was slashing at them with arms that were now swords and the battle was on.

"I can sense a huge amount of ki! Goku must be fighting with Agony! No, it's not just him, its Piccolo!" Gohan yelled to the people behind him, his heart leaping. His old teacher was back, and that meant one more fighter for their side.

"Kakarott and the Namek? ARGH! They'd better leave some scraps or I'll kill THEM INSTEAD OF AGONY!" Vegeta screamed as his SSJ state advanced into SSJ2. Erik, riding on his back, looked at Vegeta as yelled as worried thoughts invaded his mind.

__

Vegeta, there may be scraps, but it might be Agony who will be leaving them…

"HA!!!!!!!" Piccolo yelled as he pistoned both his hands forward. His sharp nails sliced through Agony's flesh as his fingers penetrated her flesh. Piccolo seized his hands around the bone structure he could feel and pulled as hard as he could, ripping Agony's whole rib cage out with a wet tearing noise. Blood sprayed him from the massive wound, but Agony just laughed at him. Piccolo wiped the smile off her face by caving it in with a punch, sending her flying backward into Son Goku's eager fists. Screaming revenge for his friends, Goku pummeled Agony mercilessly, snapping half the bones in her body before he grabbed her and drove her down across his knee, breaking her back so violently he practically tore her in half. Blood sprayed all over him too, but he didn't let up, digging his fingers into Agony's mangled body and throwing her up into the air. Blood rained down as he threw his hands to his side.

"KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Goku screamed, and threw up her hands to throw the massive blue blast. It enveloped Agony and Goku could see her flesh burn right down to her skeleton before it vanished as the blast exploded. Smoke plumed everywhere.

Far up in the air, Agony's motionless skeleton suddenly exploded with life as new flesh came to replace the old. Agony's rapidly reforming body twisted into a backwards sommersault before Agony stopped herself, floating in the air as her face reformed, grinning her twisted grin.

"Is that your best?" she mocked.

Then she screamed as she threw out her arms, summoning her power. 

Then her hair suddenly came to violent life, as each strand suddenly formed into a quivering barbed black tentacle. Agony pointed at the fighters and her now living-hair suddenly extended and lanced downward at the two fighters, thousands apon thousands of heat-seeking deadly needles.

Piccolo and Goku threw up their hands and began blasting the strands, but there were too many. As the two fighters scrambed, leapt, flipped, and did anything to get out of the way, the strands began driving themselves into the ground, seeking out their warm flesh to penetrate and destroy.

Goku and Piccolo did this dance all over Kami Tower as more and more of the tentacles came, forming a deadly web all over the place. Piccolo tried to keep track of them, but in the end it was futile. As he leapt backwards to avoid some, he leapt right into a pattern of other strands. He screamed, the strands burned like acid. He stumbled forward and screamed again as several tentacles finally found him, lancing through his right forearm, left leg, and torso. They slashed through him and pinned him to the ground. Inside him, they burned like the fires of hell. He screamed again as Agony laughed, sucking down the pain.

"PICCOLO!" Goku said, stopping to burn away the strands that held Piccolo captive. But then he was the captive as several strands found him the instant he stopped moving, burrowing through his shoulder and back. His screams joined Piccolo, the two mixing with Agony's laughter in a lunatic's symphony.

Then Piccolo, even as the pain grew worse, reached out with charged hands and grabbed several other strands of Agony's deadly hair as they came to feed on him, and even as they began to burn his hands, he sent a massive jolt of electricity into them, which traveled all the way back to Agony before she could cut the hairs from her head.

Agony's scream was cut off as her whole face lit on fire. The fire spread to the strands as her deadly hair and burned them off at the scalp. The tentacles twitched and then went dead, and Piccolo and Goku tore them from their bodies as they turned to ash in their hands.

Piccolo clutched his arm, which was bleeding the worst. Goku held his shoulder as blood poured down his back which was laced with cuts and streaks of burned flesh. At least none of the strands had gone through his spine.

Piccolo brought his hand away coated with his own blood. His rage exploded even as Agony's face reformed and her hair grew back. He brought up both his hands, the fingers curled into fists except for the fore and middle fingers, which glowed with destructive power.

"TWIN MAKKANKOSAPPO!"

Then Piccolo threw double screw-shaped beams at Agony. Agony looked at them and then suddenly dove right at Piccolo.

The beams struck her and bored right through her, but Agony kept coming, laughing, as the twin beams burned larger and larger holes in her, not stopping, heading straight for Piccolo.

Piccolo's eyes widened and he willed his beams to explode.

They did, going right off inside of Agony. Piccolo watched as she was blown to pieces before she vanished in smoke. Her severed burnt arm tumbled out of the smoke towards him.

Piccolo smiled. He'd done it. He reached out, planning to take the arm as a trophy.

But just before it fell into his waiting hand, a tendril of black energy suddenly zapped out of the smoke and grabbed the arm, yanking it back into the darkness. Piccolo's confidence suddenly turned into shock.

"NO! IT'S NOT…"

Piccolo never got to finish his sentence as Agony was suddenly flying out of the smoke, her hands forming into swords even as her body parts were fitting back together.

Piccolo tried to dodge.

Too late.

As both his legs were cut off at the kneecaps, Piccolo fell to the ground, his life's blood pouring out. As he tried to get to the feet he no longer had, a shadow fell over him, and Piccolo looked up to see Agony, smiling at him as she raised her sword arm, her insane eyes twinkling.

"You lose, green man."

Then Goku dove out of the smoke, kicking Agony with all his might. Agony was sent tumbling and then skidding across Kami Tower before she crashed into another temple. Goku threw a ball of ki and it collapsed on her.

Goku looked with distaste at the trail Agony had left. She'd skidded so quickly across the tower the friction had grinded most of the flesh off her back.

"ARGH!" Piccolo screamed, as new legs popped out from his bleeding stumps. He quickly got to his new feet, and the two looked each other over.

"You ok?" Goku asked.

"I'm just getting warmed up." Piccolo said, grinning his fanged grin. There was a loud noise as Agony pulled herself from the wreckage of the temple.

"I'm getting tired of buildings falling on me." She muttered, and then Piccolo and Goku were on her again, ravaging her body with blows. Goku broke her jaw with an uppercut and then Piccolo nailed her with a twisting hook kick. She flew into the main building where Dende lived, and then it was demolished as Goku and Piccolo assaulted it and her with ki. When they stopped their blasting war, there wasn't even any wreckage, just a massive crator. The barrage had been so intense they had vaporized all the wreckage.

"You think we got her that time?" Piccolo asked Son Goku.

Agony's crazy laughter erupted from the crator, as she floated out and raised her hands above her head, sending a barrage of black energy spears at the two warriors.

"NO!" Goku yelled as he and Piccolo dove out of the way.

"Two stupid dunces, with too many balls, how long till they realize they're just hitting brick walls? One, two, three, four…" Agony chanted in a mockery of a jump rope rhyme as she counted the spears she was throwing at the two.

Then Piccolo's fist smashed into her face as he threw out his arm and extended it across the tower, hitting Agony at long distance. His arm snapped back into its normal length.

"Hit her at long distance, most of her attacks seem to require her to be close!" Piccolo yelled to Goku.

"Oh, you think I can only hit at close range, green man? Well, think AGAIN!" Agony yelled as she reared back her arm and threw it out. Picoclo screams as his clothes suddenly erupted in flames, and he hurridly began to smack his gi to try and put it out.

Snarling, Goku landed and charged at Agony, but Agony pointed at him and suddenly the ground before her erupted as razor sharp spikes speared out of it, spreading along the ground at Goku at insane speed. Goku yelped and tried to get out of the way.

He almost made it, but as he flew, a spike at the very threashold caught him, lancing right through his ankle. He screamed as the bone shattered and he fell to the ground. He gritted his teeth and in a move that hurt almost as much as the penetration, reached over and yanked the spike out, blood staining his hands.

"Son!" Piccolo yelled, the fires on his gi extinguished. He knew injuries, and the way the spike had skewered Goku's leg meant he was going to be crippled on the ground at the very least. Snarling in fury, he threw out both his arms and extended them towards Agony, who stood there, flying and laughing, god he couldn't stand it any more he had to stop her _god damn laughing…_

His hands seized around her throat, and he clenched, trying to crush her windpipe.

Then Agony reached up and grabbed his arms.

Then Piccolo gasped in shock as his arms started to retract. But he wasn't retracting them, it was_ AGONY!_

Piccolo tried to pull his hands away, but they struck to Agony like glue as his arms pulled him right towards the demon woman, her powers over pain having somehow allowed her to seize control of Piccolo's arms and reverse his power to extend them, using them to bring him to her.

As his arms reached their normal length again he suddenly found himself right in front of her, right next to her, with him looking into his eyes with those cursed pupils that radiated hell.

"Thanks for the pleasure."

And then Piccolo screamed louder then he had ever screamed as barbed blades of bone suddenly lanced straight from Agony's body and impaled themselves right through him, her skeleton twisting itself into a lethal weapon. He opened his mouth and blood poured from it as he stared in horror into Agony's smiling face.

"PICCOLO, NO!" Goku screamed.

And then the blades suddenly lurched away in different directions like knives in a shredder and tore Piccolo to pieces.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" Goku screamed as Piccolo's body came apart in a huge spraying gout of blood. As his torso, which only had his head and the stump of his left arm still attached, began to fall, Agony, even as the bone blades retracted back into her body, reached out and grabbed it.

As she pulled Piccolo's body up, Goku could see that Piccolo was still alive, his face twisted into an agony of torture.

Agony licked her lips.

"Sorry, green man, but your return trip to Whoville is canceled." Agony chuckled.

And then Piccolo let out one last scream as his body erupted in flames. The flames consumed him, and Agony tossed Piccolo's burning remains aside like garbage.

"Looks like you'll have Christmas this year, buddy! Oh wait, no you won't!" Agony mocked.

Goku didn't hear her, wouldn't understand her if he did and wouldn't care even if he could do both. His mind was afire with rage that Agony had killed, could kill, which such abandon, with such enjoyment, with such _madness_, and laugh about it!

"AGONY!!!!!!!!!! NO MORE!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS ENDS NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Goku screamed, as golden lighting erupted on him. Gold smoke came from nowhere, swallowing him, as Agony watched in amusement.

The smoke cleared, to reveal Goku in full SSJ3 form, royally and yet brutally beautiful, as he looked apon Agony with blazing eyes of pure hatred and fury. He threw his hands to the side again, gathering more energy then he ever had in his life.

"CHOU KAMEHAMEHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Gohan and co were two miles from Kami's Tower when they ran into Dende. After a quick exchange of information, they moved on fast as they could.

They had just glimpsed the tower in the distance when suddenly the sky lit up with a brilliant flash and a roar loud enough to swallow the world shook the Z Fighters and Erik. It took them a while to get their bearings after the sensual overload, and when they did they all gaped at the gigantic mushroom cloud of smoke and dust that had extended into the air from Kami's Tower. The group hurried on, hoping, _praying_, that Goku or Piccolo had done the blast.

They gaped again when they arrived. Kami's Tower was gone. All that was left was a gigantic crator that had consumed the whole structure, making it really look like a bowl. The Z Fighters landed, hoping for the best and expecting the worst.

"Toussan!" Gohan said, as he saw the prone body of his father lying, motionless. His heart in his throat, he ran to his side.

"Toussan?"

Slowly, Goku's eyes fluttered open.

"Where's Agony?" he mumbled.

"She's gone dad. You're the only one here. You did it."

"Oh Gohan…she killed Piccolo…"

"Piccolo-sama TOO?" Gohan cried, his heart filling with new sorrow. He lowered his head and swore he would hate Agony until his dying day, even if she was dead and Piccolo was brought back to life.

"It's ok. I got her. I avenged them all…" Goku coughed.

"NO! KAKAROTT, I WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL HER!" Vegeta screamed, coming out of nowhere to reach out and grab Goku. He began punching him repeatedly, screaming that Agony was supposed to be his, until Gohan, Goten, and Ubuu pulled him off, having to use all their strength to hold the furious saiya-jin.

"SHE WAS MINE! SHE WAS MINE! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE!" Vegeta screamed, struggling like mad as the three fighters yelled and tried to keep him from killing Goku. Yamcha came over and gave Goku a Senzu, and Goku sighed and got to his feet, glad to be rid of his wounds.

"SHE WAS MINE! KARRAROT, I WAS TO FIGHT HER!" Vegeta screamed again. Goku opened his mouth to issue a reply.

Then six words from Dende silenced them all.

"You may yet get your chance."

All heads turned towards the young Namek, who stood at the edge, looking down at the clouds below them. Vegeta had stopped struggled, and the fighters let him go.

"What?" Goten said.

"I can still smell her…the blood on her hands…the blood she's spilled…if she was gone…the stench would be too…but it's still there. She's alive…and she's somewhere down there." Dende said, pointing down towards the earth, his voice quaking with shock. After all Goku had done, it still wasn't enough.

A second later Vegeta flew past Dende and off the edge of Kami Tower, vanishing down into the clouds, not knowing how Dende could possibly smell blood from such a distance, and not caring.

"He's right. If she were gone…I would know. I know her better then anyone…and she's not." Erik said, coming over to Goku's side. Dende hadn't noticed the newcomer when he'd run into the Z Fighters while fleeing from Agony, but he saw him now.

Then his eyes widened in shock.

"Who is this?" he asked Goku.

"This is Erik…he's a friend." Goku said, and gave Dende a brief synopsis of who Erik was and what he had told them. Dende didn't take his eyes off Erik the whole time. Erik found the young Namek's stare unnerving, and he was not a man who was unnerved easily.

"And that's it. What's wrong, Dende? Why are you staring at him?" Goku asked.

When Dende spoke, his voice quivered.

"You know that Namekians can smell blood, Goku. No matter how old it is." Dende said.

"Yeah, Piccolo told me about that once. Why?"

Dende shuddered and pointed to Erik.

"Because if my senses are right…his hands are stained with as much blood as Agony's."

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Gohan asked. There was no accusation in his voice, but Erik, leaning on a wall and looking away from the Z Fighters, felt like he was on trial anyway. Indeed, despite the fact that it did not manifest itself in their voices or questions, Erik could see it in their eyes, a thought they might not have believed but still couldn't shake.

__

You lied to us.

"Because I didn't think it would matter. I told you my past link with Agony. I figured that what I did while I was looking for her was none of your concern." Erik said.

"You were a vigilante?" Yamcah asked, amazed at the torrid fact Erik had told, about all the years he had also killed people, for the one lone reason he gave: they were all bad.

"Yeah. I still am. I probably will be for all my remaining years."

Then Goku spoke up. He had been silent the whole time, trying to come to grips yet again, this time with his battle with Agony. He remembered how her body had mutated, how her bones had sprung from within her to impale Piccolo and tear him apart. There had been no preparation to do it. She's done it instantly.

__

She could have done it before. She's had plenty of oppurtunities when Piccolo or I were close enough to do it. She could have taken one of us out far earlier. Why didn't she?

The answer was perhaps the most horrible thing Son Goku had ever realized in his nearly sixty years of life. Agony had been _toying_ with them, only killing Piccolo when she had _felt_ like it.

He remembered how Agony kept refering to Dende and Piccolo like they were the Grinch from Dr. Seuss's story, and how while throwing those spears of black energy, she had been singing a _nursery rhyme._

To him and Piccolo, it had been one of, if not the most, serious battles of their lives.

To Agony, it was a _game._

But that was not the worst of all. The worst of all was this.

What would Agony do when it wasn't a game to her anymore?

"I don't understand it, Erik." He said as these thoughts were shoved aside. "You talk about Agony's horrible killings. Yet you have commited just as many as her. In the end it's still murder…" Goku said.

Erik sighed, took a chair, and sat down.

"Goku, you are truly one of the most special man I have ever met. You possess something that I thought was impossible. You still look through the world with the eyes and innocence of a child, yet you have the heart and mind of an adult. I thought nothing like that could exist...if I knew, I might not have embarked on the path I did."

"Then why did you?" Yamcha said. He had an accusing tone, and after learning that Erik was as much as a serial genocidist as Agony was, he was not happy he had thrown his lot in with them.

Erik looked at Yamcha. But he didn't look angry.

He looked sad.

"Let me tell you another story, my friends. How I came to be a cyborg…and how I took the name Vengeance."

The one lone person missing from the meeting was Vegeta.

He hadn't found Agony again. He'd torn up the forest for the surrounding ten miles, and in the end he had even razed it to the ground, but he hadn't found her. She had slipped away again to God-Knows-Where.

But that wasn't what had him in the state of numb shock. Instead, it was the phone he still had in his hand. In his mind, the words repeated over and over, the call he had taken as he was on the way to where Kakarott and the others were putting Erik through their own kind of trial.

__

Mr. Briefs, I'm afraid the test results are not good. If anything, your wife is getting worse. Unless a miracle happens, I'm afarid her brain will simply slip away slowly until there's nothing left. The chances of her waking up…are practically non-existent. I know how much it hurts, but I'd like to ask for your permission to pull the plug…

Vegeta had hung up on the doctor. The phone rang again, and again, but Vegeta didn't answer it.

A maniac had killed his son and daughter, and she had killed his mate as well. All that was left was a shell, that would crumble day by day until there was nothing left.

Vegeta had sworn in his youth nothing would tie him down, that he would be free forever.

Now he had nothing left to tie him down. Again, he was free.

And it was the most horrible feeling he'd ever had, a complete sense of despair, of lonelyness, of nothing at all. He was empty inside.

The phone rang again. Vegeta put it down and slowly got up, heading for the door. Not the door that lead to the meeting, but the door that would take him outside.

Even if he somehow killed Agony, the emptyness would still be there.

And he would never be able to live the rest of his life with it gnawing on his heart.

It was better this way. With it, at least there would be no more pain.

Slowly, the prince of the saiya-jins, the second greatest warrior in the universe, and once the cockiest, most arrogant, most proud fighter who ever lived, slowly walked towards the place he had chosen to end it all, his grief and despair so strong he had forgotten that Dende was alive and thus so were the Dragon Balls.

"I told you the government made me a cyborg. What happened was that when Agony tossed me over a cliff, and I, by whatever miracle, survived, she had accidentaly thrown me onto a government compound. I know, the coincidence is amazing, but it happened. Soldiers found me and brought me in, and put me under the care of a scientist named Dr. Vagane."

Erik paused, apparently fighting bad memories.

"Vagane was the most sadistic, most twisted person I ever knew. He loved to hurt people, just like Agony. But he was also brilliant, and he was in charge of creating an ultimate weapon for the good old USA, something that could accomplish any task. When he learned of my family's death, he decided it would be me. He erased any record of the Ravenskys ever existing, and then he went to work on my destroyed body. The parts that were wrecked beyond repair were replaced with the most advanced technology they had. I heard rumours that it was some strange, experimental amalgam of Earth's finest work and technology they had taken from a downed alien ship locked away in Area 51. Who knows? But it was at least 200 years ahead of anything else any other country had. Slowly, my humanity was stripped from me, as they put on these limbs, wired microminiature supercomputers into my brain, established a whole path of circuitry within me, all the while using all sorts of steriod and chemical treatments to turn my body into a living weapon."

Erik pasued as a tear trickled down his cheek.

"It was horrible…the pain…and to escape, I began to retreat into my mind, my being. Slowly I came to understand myself as well as anyone can. And when I was done…I began looking into the beings of others, the hearts, the minds, the souls, of other people, learning how to see what was in there, what would always be in there…whether they are ultimately good or evil. The Pure…and the Corrupt."

Erik paused again. The Z Fighters listened, spellbound.

"Vagane was the most Corrupt soul there was. He wanted me to be a mindless drone, who would do what he was told without question or hesitation. Since he'd had to start on me when my personality was already beginning to form, he had to try and undo that. But I refused. I'd lost my family and my humanity. All I had left was myself. I would not part with it, no matter what. Vagane tried everything. Mind tricks, chemical treatments, physical torture. He couldn't break me. He grew more and more frustrated as I took his treatments and began to use them to refine my technique of seeing into other hearts, seeing their true selves, seeing something they could never hide, no matter how many masks or smokescreens they used. And slowly, his delight in hurting me turned into hatred that I wouldn't break like everyone else who had defied him. So he tried to go around my defenses and break me from the inside."

"The inside?" asked Ubuu.

"He had access to my mind via the machinery he had put in there. So he implanted a chip that would allow him to control my body via remote. Though it, he was planning to break me by controlling me and showing me that I could not resist him. He was so confident of success…of me becoming his soldier which he would use to take over the world. Yes, while Vagane had the higher ups he was working for, I knew he had no intention of giving me for them. He'd spent eight years on me, he'd taking everything my normal growth would have given to me and warped it, twisted it, and when he was done, he planned, in his crazy mind, to use me to rule everyone and make everyone his personal toys, just like I had been."

Yamcha spoke again, but this time there was no accusing tone in his voice.

"What happened?"

"Vagane made a mistake. I was training by fighting a soldier. I disarmed him and rendered him helpless with one arm tied behind my back and my eyes blindfolded. Afterward, Vagane ordered me to kill the man. I refused to. So he used his remote and took control of me, and no matter how hard I fought, I couldn't resist the force he was using. I took that soldier's life while he begged for mercy and I screamed for him to stop. And Vagane just responded to my pleas with laughter."

Another pause.

"Vagane's laughter was just like Agony's, full of joy and fulfillment in his destruction. And I snapped."

The Z Fighters listened.

"I got so angry I literally saw red. My rage was so great I completely overloaded the chip Vagane had implanted at me, frying it. Suddenly I was free and in control of myself again, and I was going to make sure Vagane lived to regret his actions. So I single handedly tore down the entire facility. Every skill, every weapon that Vagane put in me, I used it on his facility and his dream and sent it crashing into hell where it belonged. But while I was doing it, I saw something. Soldiers came to stop me, and I killed them. But so many of them were Pure. I didn't want to kill them, I didn't want to destroy them, because when it came down to it they had good hearts. But Vagane was screaming on the PA system for them to kill me, and I had to put my own survival before theirs. I did it, but I mourn that I had to. I always will."

Another pause.

"After that was done…I found the place where Vagane has buried my family in shallow graves. I dug them up and buried them properly. And then I made a vow to them, one I will always keep."

Erik stood up, and looked out a window, in which he could see the city the Capsole Corperation bordered on.

"There are bad people in this world, Goku. There always will be. In this world…maybe there are less. Maybe that's why you can't understand me and my motivation. But in my world…there were bad people…a lot of bad people. Far too many. They came from all walks and all paths, from all socities and cultures, from all skin colours and sexes, from all ages. They walk the earth planning to do bad things. And they do. They murder. They rape. They steal. They backstab. They undermine. They hate. But most of all, they _hurt_. They hurt the good people who don't hold such evil desires. They do it directly like Agony, or they do it indirectly like Vagane when he sent those Pure soldiers after me knowing they wouldn't stand a chance. They don't care if, or who, or why they hurt, as long as they saitisfy whatever greedy desires lurk within their hearts. Whether it's taking over a company and letting go half the employees to save money, or tracking down your wife to kill her because she left you and you feel she had no right to do so, or whether you beat up a kid and took what belongs to him just because you could. They are the Corrupt, Goku. They are the rotten apples, the bad seeds, the ones who will drag humanity into oblivion and damnation without even realizing it."

Erik turned to look at Goku.

"And the greatest injustice of all, Goku, is that in the end there is so little the Pure can do. Oh, the law system tries. They try to protect witnesses from those who wish to kill them so that evil people can go free to do more wicked deeds. They try to lock away dangerous people so they can't hurt. They try so hard, and my heart goes out to them. But they can't win. Their techniques are too weak, too soft. You don't hit brick walls with a pillow, you use a jackhammer."

Erik began taking slow steps towards Goku.

"The Corrupt killed my family. They took my humanity. They tried to take everything from me. And in the end, there was nothing I could do for myself. It had happened and no one had stood up to help me because they couldn't. They didn't have the power. They didn't have the skill. They didn't have the leverage. They didn't have the guts. THEY TRIED TO DESTROY ME, AND THERE WAS NOTHING ANYONE COULD DO!"

Erik slicked back his hair, his voice rising with each sentence.

"I swore that as long as I lived, I would not let this happen. I would not let the Corrupt take the Pure and ruin them. And there is ultimately only one way to stop them. Kill them. A dead murderer can never murder again, a dead rapist can never rape again, a dead Corrupt person can't hurt anyone. I dedicated my life to make sure that I would find these people and take them down, and offer my hand to those who had been downtrodden and hurt like me. That's why I became a vigilante Goku. That's why I have the blood of thousands on my hands. There is a war going on Goku, every day, every hour, every minute, every _second_, and the good people are losing. They have no champion, no defense against the overwhelming force of those who seek to only do evil with their lives. I swore on my family's graves that I would be that force. I failed my family. I couldn't help them! But everyone I could help, I would try, in the hopes of maybe buying some hope for humanity. Maybe it's futile. Maybe my world is doomed no matter what I do, but I will die before I _ever give up."_

From Erik's metal fingers, razor sharp blades suddenly sprang, and he held them over his face as he lowered his head.

"That is why I kill people, Goku. They are bad. I know they are bad. I can see it in them, see that they will never change. And I hear the way the Pure cry for help, help that they can never have from the others who try to help them. For every success they have, they will have a hundred failures, a hundred victims, a hundred people who can only sit and cry that their justice has been robbed from them."

Erik's last words were only a whisper.

"I am their justice. I am their champion. I am their…_VENGEANCE."_

Erik looked up, right into Goku's eyes.

"I am Erik Damien Ravensky. Look into me Goku. You, who somehow possess the innocence of a child, would know best of all. Look into me, and tell me this: do you see a murderer in these eyes? Do you see an evil person?"

The silence was long, as Goku did as Erik asked, and looking into his heart…saw something he saw in all those he called friend, even Vegeta.

The shining light of those who truly serve good, in whatever way they did.

"No."

"I may have an answer."

Goten looked up from his conversation with Marron, Goku looked up from food he couldn't taste, and Erik looked up from his studies of Agony's path.

"What is it, Gohan?"

Gohan had been gone for some time, claiming he had something to see in the lab after he had received a phone call. He returned in a lab coat and some kind of device.

"While doing some research, some of my fellow scientists stumbled apon an interesting discovery. It was deemed useless, but they recorded it anyway. I asked them to make some more, and they'd finally come through. Take a look at this."

"What is it?" Goten asked as they came to Gohan's side.

"It's a gas dispenser, a fancy version of a sprayer, basically. But it's the gas, or more precisely, what it does, that gave me an idea. Erik, would you mind being a test subject? The gas is harmless."

"Ok, but if the gas is harmless, I don't see how it's going to help us with Agony." Erik said, as Goku and Goten stood aside.

"It might just. Now, Erik, which hand are you?"

"I'm apidexterous, but I prefer my right hand."

"Do you usually punch with your right hand?"

"Unless the situation requires my left, yes."

"Ok, I want you to think about hitting me, think about it as hard as you can, and then I want you to hit me in the gut. Don't worry, it won't hurt, so don't ask."

Erik shrugged, then a look came over his face like he was focussing, and then he yelled and punched Gohan in the gut. Gohan made a small noise in reaction and pushed his glasses up.

"Good. Now do the same thing, but while you're thinking it, I'm going to spray you. Inhale the gas, ok?"

"Gotcha." Erik said. Gohan commenced spraying as the focussed look came back on Erik's face. Once the gas had dispelled, Erik looked focussed for a few more seconds and then yelled and punched Gohan in the gut again.

With his _left_ hand.

"What the fuck?" Erik said in surprise. "How did you do that?"

"That's the gas's quirk. If you inhale the gas while thinking of an action, whether consciously or unconsciously, when you try to do it you will do the exact opposite. Erik was thinking of hitting, and since he primarily uses his right hand, he used his left hand. Go ahead Erik. Try as hard as you can to hit me with your right hand."

Erik tried. He couldn't. Every punch he threw automatically came with his left hand. Gohan tested it on his father and younger brother, and the same thing happened. It even happened for Marron.

"Ok, now Erik, I want you to think about hurting me, like it's your only reason for living, the lone reason you have life to hurt me. Let it consume your mind."

Erik did so. The look on his face freaked Marron out, it looked so natural.

"Now do it!"

Erik swung his fist at Gohan.

But instead of his arm stretching out into the smooth crisp punch Erik had planned, his arm curved and directed the blow right into Erik's own stomach.

"OOOOOFFFFFFFFFF!" Erik wheezed. "Ouch!"

"You see. Whatever your mind is focussed on, the gas screws up the signals your brain sends to carry out your desire in a way that makes you do the exact opposite. Now Agony mind's is always obessed with killing people, right? So if I can get close and spray this on her as she tries to kill me…"

"….She'll hit herself instead, and since her body can't heal from wounds she inflicts on herself…she might kill herself! It just might work!" Erik said. He was very impressed. _It might just be your time after all, Agony!_

"But we don't know if it will work, or if she'll wound herself fatally…" Marron began.

Then she found Erik's finger on her lips, silencing her.

"Marron, I have tried everything I can think of to kill Agony. Nothing has worked. I have real hope that this could work. Don't jinx it, please."

"Great. Now the only thing we have to figure out is where she'll turn up next. Even since Kami Tower, there's been no sign of her. There are several villages she could have gone through, and with her crazy pattern of zig-zags, odds are she would have crossed into one or them. But there's no sign." Goku said in a rare moment of intelligence.

"Maybe you hurt her so badly that she had to recover Dad." Goten said.

"I doubt it, Goten. I saw her talent first hand, as have you. It's…miraculous, in a horrible sort of way." Goku replied.

"Well, she will show up soon. Laying low is not her style. We just have to get everyone together and wait, and then go after her, once and for all. So let's get everyone. Where's Vegeta?" Erik asked.

"Vegeta? I don't know. I haven't seen him since Kami Tower." Gohan replied.

"I'm sure he's around. I'll go look for him. I need to speak to him anyway." Erik said, walking out the door.

As Erik searched the rooms in the Capsole Corp building, a celluar phone lying on a table began to ring. Erik hesitated, then picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Vegeta Briefs?" a male voice came.

"Uh, no…"

"Well this is his phone. Where is Vegeta Briefs?"

"I don't know. I found the phone sitting on a table."

"Hmmmm. Are you a friend?"

"Uhhhhhhhh…you might say that."

"I see. Good. He's going to need every friend he has."

"Why so, mister?"

"Didn't he tell you?" the doctor said, and gave Erik the same information he had given Vegeta. Being on the phone, he didn't see Erik's face fill with shock as he told him Bulma's condition.

"She'll never wake up?" Erik said.

"Well, she could, but the odds are very unlikely the way her mind has been damaged. Winning the lottery would be more likely."

"I see. Thank you. I'll speak with Vegeta." Erik said, hanging up the phone. The pieces came together rather quickly. Vegeta's refusal to shed a tear for his dead children for whatever reason he had, the fact that Agony might be unkillable, and this news…what could it added up to in Vegeta's head?

There was only one real answer, the same answer that would come to Erik if he had been in the exact same situation.

"Oh my god."

Silently, Vegeta looked down on the crashing waves that churned on the cliffs below. He'd been standing there for nearly two hours, getting his mind in order, and then reciting to himself the ceremony that was custom for dead saiya-jin royalty. It was ironic, Vegeta always thought he would be reciting this solemn ceremony to other people, never to himself.

Slowly, he finished and took a deep breath as he stepped to the very edge of the cliff. He threw out his hand and slowly a red ki blade formed on it. It would be quick, probably far better then the fate Agony would inflict on him, and it would end his overwhelming pain.

"Goodbye, woman. I love you. I may not have redeemed myself enough to get into heaven and see our children again…but I can only hope so." Vegeta said. Slowly, he raised the blade, aiming it right for his heart.

He thrust down.

And then a hand seized his wrist, stopping the blade inches from its goal. Vegeta's eyes snapped open in shock.

"Don't do it, Vegeta! It's not worth it!" Erik said, straining to hold Vegeta's arm. Every single motor in his cyborg limb was screaming to try and counter Vegeta's saiya-jin strength.

Vegeta looked at the man from another world, realizing he was getting in the way of getting rid of his pain.

A second later Erik slammed into a tree twenty feet away. He willed himself to go limp, but Vegeta had thrown him so hard it still hurt like hell.

"Who do you think you are, baka? I'm trying to die in peace here!" Vegeta said, marching over and picking Erik up with one hand, holding the dark warrior off the ground.

"Vegeta, it's not worth it. This is not the answer!"

"What is the answer then, you stupid baka? Everything I cared about is gone! My children are dead! My mate…my wife…is gone, shattered, dying slowly in a way that no one deserves! And this world is threatened by something that even I can't stop! It's better this way…no more pain…"

Vegeta was more shocked then by anything else, as Erik reached out and belted Vegeta across the face.

"LISTEN TO YOURSELF! You're giving up! You, the Prince of the saiya-jins, the Saiya-jin Elite, is giving in to despair! What happened to the _real_ Vegeta, the one who lazily crossed his arms and arrogantly smirked with one side of his mouth? The one who thought, no, who _knew_, he was better then everyone else, stronger, tougher, more powerful? You're not Vegeta! You're just a coward!"

Vegeta turned eyes that were suddenly bright green onto Erik.

"What did you call me?" he said, his voice trembling with rage.

"You heard me! A coward! You've given in to your own pain and despair. After all you've been through, you're surrendering to mere _emotions_! I know emotions are powerful, but they are also controllable, as long as you think they are! You've given in to them. You're thinking that Bulma will never come back to you. Well Vegeta, the chances aren't good, I will say that, but as long as there is a chance, you don't give up! You have!"

Erik didn't get to go on as Vegeta suddenly screamed and hurled Erik across the grass. Erik bounced and flipped to his feet, then his eyes widened and he dodged out of the way as Vegeta hurled a ki blast at him.

"Look at yourself! See that it's true! You're just a shell of your former self, Vegeta! Are you going to continue refusing to realize it? What are you gonna do so you can keep running away from that realization? Are you going to fry me? Are you going to fry everyone else who says the same thing, until you finally have the time to take your own life? Well, go ahead! But let me say just one thing, Vegeta! If you go back to that cliff, if you take that dagger and stab yourself, you will only succeed in doing one thing: proving you're the biggest blowhard, the biggest weakling, and the biggest _nothing_ in the world! Or you can come back to Capsole Corp, you can hear of our plan to kill Agony, and you can avenge all you have lost! You can prove your claims of being an elite, of being the best. What ever happened to your saiya-jin pride, Vegeta? Don't let despair destroy it, let it destroy the despair!"

As Erik stood, panting, Vegeta kept steady eyes on him, one arm out, the ki blade still glowing.

Then Vegeta lowered his arm as the ki blade vanished, as he turned around to look at the cliffside, where moments ago, he planned to take his own life. Slowly, Erik walked towards him, trying to reach out with a comforting hand, but Vegeta slapped it away.

"Don't touch me." He snapped, but the rage was beginning to be replaced with sorrow, a sorrow so deep and consuming Erik's heart went out to the saiya-jin.

"I understand how you feel, Vegeta, far too well. I lost my family to Agony as well. I lost my humanity and nearly lost myself to something that was as evil as her. I haven't had a single moment of happiness or peace for twenty years."

Vegeta looked at Erik.

"Twenty years?"

Slowly, Erik re-told the story of his life.

"I was nine when Agony destroyed me. I was seventeen when I escaped Vagane and became Vengeance. I was twenty-four when the Change occurred. I'm twenty-nine now. Twenty years might not seem like a long time to you Vegeta, since your lifespan is over twice that of a normal human, but to me, it's been an eternity. Twenty years of pain, of torture, and then of an orgy of bloodletting, of battle, of faces that all blur into one another. There have been many times when I have stood at my own cliffsides, pondering if the void is better. But I always step away, because I always have hope. Hope is frail, it's so very frail, so very fragile, but while its bridge beneath you may seem no stronger then the gossomer of a spider's web, as long as you believe in it, it will still be there underneath you when all your other bridges have collasped. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, Vegeta. Always. If there wasn't…then there would be no point in living. But it's there, and you have to stand on it. Build a bridge, Vegeta. Believe it will hold you, and look for that light."

Vegeta looked at Erik, then walked on to the cliff face. Erik's heart leapt in fear, but then he realized Vegeta was just pondering. He decided it was best if he told him now.

"Vegeta?"

"What is it now, you baka?" Vegeta said.

"I've seen how much pain you've gone through, all the loss, all the agony within you. It radiates off of you like light off mirrors. Yet I haven't seen you shed a single tear. Tell me Vegeta, why are you refusing to cry?"

"Crying is for the weak!" Vegeta snapped, turning away.

"I figured it would be something like that. Vegeta, you're wrong."

Vegeta turned, his eyes alight with stunned amazement yet again. This human who came from another world either really had guts, was really stupid, or as insane as Agony.

"Men think crying is a sign of weakness. They're wrong. Emotions are not something to be ashamed of. If you lock your grief, your sorrow away like you have Vegeta, instead trying to reply on anger and rage to get you through, the sadness will just devour you from the inside. Vegeta, don't let that happen."

"I don't think the world would be that comforted if they saw their greatest warrior break down and weep like a baby that's pissed itself." Vegeta retorted.

"Maybe. But there are a few that would see it for what it is, Vegeta. A sign of true strength, of true bravery, of truly being a _man."_

Vegeta cocked his head and looked in confusion at Erik.

"Vegeta, I've cried. I've cried many times over the years. No one has ever looked apon me as being weak for doing it. Let it out, Vegeta. Stop repressing it and let it out. Crying is not the sign of the weak. It is the sign of the truly strong. If you really wish to call yourself a warrior, then you will shed tears. It's what makes me, and in a sense, you, human."

Erik waited for Vegeta to retort that he wasn't a weak human, he was an elite saiya-jin. But Vegeta said nothing. Instead, he and Erik stared at each other for a long time, never looking away from each other's gaze.

Finally, Vegeta turned away.

"I have to think." He said, and before Erik could do anything else he rose and flew off, vanishing over the horizon. Erik sighed. He'd done all he could to help.

"Vegeta…good luck."

"This is driving me NUTS!" Goten cursed. All the fighters were gathered around the same computer bank that Erik had been at what seemed to be an eternity ago as he learned about the Z Fighters and their world. Gohan had scanned the map of Agony's path into the computer and now they were all looking at it, trying to figure out where Agony could go next so they could head there. There, they would make a stand, maybe their last.

But even with the image up on the screen and the computer working on it, it could find no pattern. Agony had simply started walking down the map in a crazy zig-zag, and then, after walking that way for several hundred miles, had turned around and started walking back up at a different angle. The computer had tried to find a shape that was formed from all the blinking dots that indicated where Agony had struck, but it couldn't find anything. The search for any other pattern turned up negative. Gohan had even brought his wife and daughter in to see if they could see anything, but they couldn't help either.

Erik stood off in the corner. He'd been there ever since he entered, glancing at the computer screen every now and then, deep in thought. He wouldn't tell them what he'd done, but in his heart, Goku could somehow sense it was something…with good intentions. At least.

"God damn it, I don't see any pattern here at all! It's just totally random! I have no idea where she could turn up!" Yamcha cursed. Dende floated up, but looking at the zig-zag pattern face to face didn't make it make any more sense.

"Maybe we're looking at this wrong. Maybe it's not a shape." Dende called down to his friends. Goku floated up to his side. Ubuu quickly joined them.

"Well, Agony comes from another world, right? Maybe this forms some kind of letter in some alien alphabet or something…" Dende began.

Erik's head suddenly snapped up as he heard Dende speak. He quickly hurried over to Gohan as he sat entering new commands and possible new patterns for the computer to try and identifyas Dende spoke to Goku and Ubuu in a discussion of what the pattern could be.

"Gohan, scan up higher."

"What?" Gohan said, looking at Erik.

"This map is a close up of her path. Scan it higher as if you were looking down on the land and flew higher. Dende mentioning the alphabet has give me an idea."

Gohan understood and did so. A new image appeared as lines reformed themselves to compensate for the higher image, becoming less twisted.

"Higher."

This lines straightened out more.

"Higher."

And more.

"Higher."

And then it appeared.

"My god…"

The map was now so high up that the exact details of the paths from each one of Agony's paths, which formed the crazy zig-zag pattern, were gone. Instead, the line now just stretched from one point to another, forming a nearly completed letter.

A V.

"Oh god…she's walking in a V pattern. She knew that we would probably look at her path from up close and thus wouldn't notice…" Gohan said.

"But why a V?" Goku asked, confused.

"V for Vengeance. She's doing it to mock me, to rub it in my face if I came here after her, if I figured her pattern out out while trying to find her It's her way of saying that I will be hers, eventually." Erik snarled, his hand claws popping out instinctively.

"And according to the computer, it's a perfect V. It's like someone drew a V very carefully on a piece of paper. How could she possibly know geography well enough that she could take such a twisted path and yet still be able to walk in a way that would form a V at such heights…"

"WHO CARES?" Erik thundered. He looked at the pattern, eyes locked on the thing that made him uneasy. While Agony was walking in a V, it wasn't completed. Her last location, Kami Tower, only formed the second line of the letter about 2/3 of the way.

"Gohan, you say that is a perfect V?"

"Yes, it's shaped perfectly, the lines are…"

"Ok, so assuming that Agony wants to complete that perfect V…where will she end up when gets to the very end of the drawing of the letter, and it's still a perfect V. The letter begins where Bra died. Where does it end?"

Gohan, with the push of a few buttons, pinpointed the exact location and scanned in.

SATAN CITY.

"Oh…my…god…"

"Satan City? You gave a city to a bunch of devil worshippers?" Erik said in amazement.

"No, it was named after Mr. Satan after he took the credit for defeating Cell. It's one of the largest cities in Japan, and Agony's heading right for it!" Gohan yelled.

Erik's heart turned to ice as he realized what Agony could do in a city of such size.

"Scramble! We've got to get there, ASAP! Go go go go GO! Gohan, get the gas! Videl, take Pan and get someplace safe! Dende, come with us but keep your distance!" Erik suddenly went into a flurry of commands. Although they were a tad miffed, the Z Fighters listened to him. He did know Agony the best.

"Where's Vegeta?" Goku asked Erik as the fighters began to scramble to head to Satan City.

"I don't know and we don't have time to look for him! Let's get going, we don't know how much time we have left, if we have any at all! And someone get on the phone to anyone who will listen to you in Satan City! We have to warn those poor people, AGONY IS COMING!"

__

To Be Continued.

Editor's Note: Loathe Agony YET? Well, sit down and put on your seatbelts, because the wildest ride of them all is about to begin. SO BUCKLE UP! 


	6. Zero Hour

Chapter 6
    
    It was noon of a beautiful day when Agony stepped onto the outskirts of Satan City.

In a rare moment of peace, the streets were devoid of cars, although some were parked by the sidewalk. The street was the beginning of the gigantic line of shops that ran all the way from one end of the city to another. However, this end was all but abandonned.

As Agony walked down the street with slow deliberate steps, a group of teenage girls stepped out of a subway station. They looked at Agony and giggled and pointed for a bit, speaking among themselves on how dumb her outfit looked. They swiftly grew bored of their private teasing and turned to look at dresses on display in a shop window. Various comments began to flow from them as they remarked on how the dresses would look on them and the prices.

They didn't see Agony looking at them with evil delight, nor did they see her point at the window.

"…my mother would give me more allowence…eh?" One of the girls was saying when the store window suddenly began to crack. The girls looked at each other.

"Did you touch it?

"No!"

"Neither did I!"

"Well then what is it doing, cracking by itself…?"

Then all questions were drowned out in horrible screams as the window suddenly exploded outward in a furious spray of shrapnal, which sliced through the girls and cut them to pieces. As blood sprayed all over the sidewalk, Agony smiled and pointed at the shop. It suddenly erupted into an inferno of flames. Screams came from within as customers ran about, lit up like cigarettes, screaming even as their skins melted and their body parts fried.

"Oh yeah." Agony chuckled.

Twisted around, she turned and pointed at a man who stood gaping at the destruction, and he to began to scream as the sidewalk underneath him suddenly liquified and began dragging him in like quicksand.

"AHHHHHHHH! IT BURNS! IT BURRRRRRRNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!" he screamed before the sidewalk completely claimed him and re-solidified, leaving one limp arm grasping at the sky for a merciful death that would never come.

A car came around the bend, driving at Agony. It honked, and then within it the driver screamed as his seatbelt suddenly turned into piano wire and yanked against him so hard he was cut in half. The car swerved and crashed into a daycare center, and then it too exploded in flames. Screams of burning children filled Agony's ears, and she sighed with bliss.

And then she walked into Satan City and unleashed Armageddon. She pointed at a library and within it all the books suddenly came to life as they all grew cruelly sharp teeth and proceeded to devour the readers. One boy managed to get out the door, screaming in agony as a book gnawed on his arm. He yanked it off, ripping most of the flesh off his shoulder in the process, and hurled it away. As he turned though, the stone lions on the entranceway, also given life by Agony, pounced on him. He screamed and kicked as marble teeth and claws tore him apart.

Agony then waved her arm at a skyscraper and slowly it began to collaspe as she slowly increased the gravity on it. Inside it the daily humdrum was violently interrupted as each person suddenly found his or her bodies collasping under the gravity. The screams rang throughout the building as every person from CEO to janitor was slowly crushed into a pancake.

Realizing they were under attack, the people in the street erupted into full-blown panic. A huge mob of people tried to flee from Agony, but a wave of her hand and suddenly a massive wave of razor sharp spikes erupted under them, impaling through them. They squirmed and cried in horrible pain before they died, but for all of them it was agonizingly slow.

Police cars screamed towards Agony as officers leapt out, guns drawn. Agony just laughed and waved at them and their weapons exploded in their hands, blowing them off, before their cars were suddenly levitated into the air and brought down on their bodies repeatedly, like a hammer smashing in a nail, squashing them all flat.

That did it. The people of Satan City went from panic to full blown hysteria as they tried to get away. But their was no escape. As they ran, they randomly burst into flames, or had their own organs suddenly explode within their bodies, or had their skins suddenly stripped off of them leaving them in their ultimate birthday suits. Aorund Agony, buildings melted, or twisted like tops, or suddenly became living carnavorious monsters that devoured their inhabitants and then anyone on the street they could catch. Agony pointed at one man running by and his flesh suddenly began to rapidly rot, his screams cut off as his lungs withered into black decomposed sacks. Agony pointed at another woman and she began to melt as well, this time into a greenish slime. A child suddenly found his body being drawn inwards by a powerful suction until his screams were cut off as he exploded. A group of people ran into each other and then suddenly they all began to fuse together, their screams all blending together in a catatomy of pain and violation.

The people of Satan City ran. They screamed. They died in ways that were beyond horrible.

The streets ran with blood and the city burned as a lunatic demon woman brought hell to earth.

And at the centre of it all, Agony sighed in utter exctasy as soul after soul was absorbed into her black heart for eternal torture. To her, heaven couldn't have been any better.

They couldn't help it. Despite their need to get to the city, they couldn't help but stop when they saw the abbatoir the city was becoming. The Z Fighters floated there, eyes wide, as they looked apon Agony's ever-expanding masterpiece.

Ubuu nearly threw up. Yamcha nearly ran away. Gohan was braver but had no problem getting rid of his lunch. Tears stung Goku's eyes as he thought of all the lives that were gone, taken by that lunatic who had killed so many of his friends. Goten held onto Marron as tightly as he could, she having insisted that she come along, she could give out Senzus or anything, because she damn sure wasn't going to let her parents's deaths go unavenged and anything she could do to hinder Agony, she would do. Dende flew, mouth agap. In all his preparations and learnings in becoming Kami of Earth, he had never seen, never even _conceived_, of such a ghastly sight.

Only Erik, as a look of undescribable grief swept over his face, said anything, as he turned and literally stood on Goku's shoulders as Goku floated there.

"You see that city? If we don't stop her, that is our fate, along with the fate of all mankind and everything else. If we fail, _humanity dies!_ If anyone wants to run away now, go ahead. You won't escape Agony. Better to die together, then face her alone!"

No one ran. Not even Yamcha. Mad laughter rang in the Z Fighter's ears, and they looked down to see Agony standing on a pile of cars which blood poured out from in streams as the seats, granted a horrible consuming life, devoured their occupants.

"More company! What fun! Who shall I kill first? I know! Since you got away from me last time, YOU!" Agony yelled as she raised a hand.

And then a huge burst of energy flew from her hand right at Son Goku. Goku's eyes widened.

"That's Trunks's Finish Bus-" Goku tried to say as he tried to twist away.

It barely missed Goku, clipping his side and burning a ragged hole in his gi. Erik, unable to maintain his balance, was tossed off Goku's shoulders.

"OH SHITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!" he yelled.

"ERIK!" Gohan yelled. He tried to dive and grab him, but suddenly the air was filled with jagged black energy spears and all the Z Fighters had to go into a mad dance of dodging as Agony laughed at them. There was no one to save Erik as he fell earthward. With a loud crash, he hit the roof of a burning building and smashed through it.

"I wonder who that was?" Agony muttered to herself. The distance had been too far for her to tell if it was anyone she knew, and she had been focussed on the dunce who had fought her alongside the green man. "Oh well."

And then Agony zapped the building, and it collasped in a pile of flaming wreckage.

"ERIK!" Goten yelled.

Yamcha, having been cowering at the back, suddenly flew forward.

"HE'S GONE! FORGET HIM! CRY LATER! FIGHT NOW!" Yamcha yelled, and before any of the Z Fighters could say anything, he dove at Agony. He'd been afraid for far too long, and he was sick of it. If he was going to die, it was going to be on the battlefield, on his feet, combat ready to the end. He sucked in air as he charged up his ki.

"WOLF WIND!" he screamed as he landed and charged at Agony, his whole body enveloped in flaming energy as he pistoned out his fist. The fist struck Agony dead center and tore right through her, but Yamcha kept going, letting his flaming body fly right through Agony, cutting her in half. Her top section sprayed upward in a great gout of blood, which splattered on Yamcha's ki aura and sizzled as it fried. But Yamcha hadn't even had time to keep going on behind Agony before black energy leapt up and grabbed the section, sealing it back on as Yamcha whirled to attack again.

"YAMCHA! WATCH OUT FOR HER HAIR!" Goku yelled as all the Z Fighters dove to join the fight. Confusion crossed Yamcha's face. _Her hair?_

And then Agony's hair extended and flew around Yamcha, and he screamed as he was suddenly covered in burning strands of acid which began to eat into his skin. They hissed and smoke plumed from the wounds as they dug at his muscles like a starving animal.

Yamcha could only scream as Agony turned around to smile as the fly caught in her web.

Then Ubuu dove, his hand wreathed in ki, and brought his arm down on the strands of hair, severing them. Agony's smile vanished as Ubuu slammed a thrusting kick into her sternum, sending her flying across the street. Ubuu leapt up and began firing ki needles, enveloping Agony in explosions. Yamcha collasped, twitching, his mind afire with pain.

Then Dende was there, and the pain faded as his healing power washed over Yamcha. The horrible deep burns that had crossed all over Yamcha's body faded and vanished as Gohan and Goku came from the sky and added their efforts to the blast war, Goku at SSJ3 and Gohan at the maximum level his Mystic ability would let him amplify his ki. Yamcha got to unsteady feet, thanked Dende, tore off his ruined shirt, and then looked at the expanding mass of explosions where Agony was. Fury rose in his heart, and he added his efforts to the blast war.

But the Z Fighters could only throw ki for so long, and eventually they had to rest and let their energy recharge. Ubuu, breathing hard, flew down beside Yamcha, gave him a once over, and then looked at the spot where the smoke still curled. Dende waited behind a building, his eyes alive with fear at seeing Agony again,

They stood, waiting, knowing Agony too well now to expect a miracle. But they at least knew her.

Or so they thought.

From the smoke, a horrible white sharp _thing_ emerged, gleaming dully. It moved at hideous speed, and before Ubuu could move it suddenly slammed right through his chest, pucturing his right lung with a wet pop. Ubuu screamed, as the _thing_ dragged him backwards, barbs on it ripping his flesh even as they kept the lance attached to his body. He slammed into one of the buildings that still stood, and was left there, splayed like an insect on display as the white protectile ripped itself out of his chest and slid back into the rapidly clearing smoke. As Ubuu toppled to the ground, a big splash of blood left on the building wall, the last reminants blew away to reveal Agony, her body in the same horrific half human half skeleton state that Tien had seen her in. Her left forearm was all bone, which had been snapped off at the forearm. It was the same bone-dagger that had killed Tien, but this time the bone had _extended_, impaling Ubuu like a bug. Despite that fact that she only had half her lips left, Agony somehow smiled.

"She stole Piccolo's ability to stretch his limbs! Shit!" Goku cursed. "GET HER!"

The Z Fighters dove at Agony, only to have black tendrils of burning black energy leap from her body and slap them all away. They Z Fighters crashed through surrounding buildings. Dende cowered, and was grateful when Agony flew after Goku.

Ubuu, wheezing as he tried to bring air into a lung that no longer worked and oxygen to blood that was pouring out of his body in a steady stream, tried to get to his feet. He couldn't, his legs were numb, and he collasped, mourning that he hadn't been able to do more.

"Ubuu!"

Ubuu recognized Marron's voice, and then her hand was at his mouth, trying to shove a small object in it.

"Eat this!" she said. Ubuu, recognizing it, opened his mouth and swallowed. His body jerked as tissues rapidly rebuilt themselves as the Senzu bean did its work, and then he breathed in in cotentment, glad his lung worked again.

"Thank you Marron." He said, giving her a thumbs-up and heading off after Agony. Marron stood, looking after Ubuu, wishing she could fight, partly so she could wrap her hands around Agony's throat and do her damndest to choke the life out of her like Agony had done to her mother and father…

Goku shook his head as he pulled himself from the small crator his impact has left. Agony had smacked him to one of the sections of Satan City that still had people, who now all knew something horrible was happening and they were trying to get away from it. He stood up and snarled, his battle aura exploding higher around him, as Agony flew from the sky and landed in front of him, smirking.

"Awww, is the little moron angry?" Agony said in a baby-talk voice. "I'll make it better!"

Agony pointed to a random person fleeing around the saiya-jin and the lunatic, and she screamed as her skin suddenly flew right off her like wax, followed by her muscles and organs. Agony snapped her fingers and the skeleton exploded into bone shards and flew at Goku, several hundred razor-sharp organic missiles. Goku cursed and cartwheeled out of the way as the bone knives slammed into the concrete so hard they were imbedded into the stone. Agony pointed to another man fleeding the scene and the same thing happened to him. Goku leapt up as the knives of bone imbedded themselves in the wall behind him.

Agony looked perturbed.

Then a school bus driving down a side street and oblivious to the chaos happening in the city screeched to a halt as Agony walked in front of it. Her eyes turned and lit up as she saw it, the driver looking in confusion and the kids trying to see what was going on.

Goku saw Agony's delight.

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Then Agony pointed at the school bus and suddenly it began to crumple, crushing itself like it was being handled with a pair of invisible hands. The kids screamed within it, but there was no escape.

Blood and worse began to squirt at high pressure as Agony crumbled the massive bus into a metal ball that seemed to be able to bleed.

"Hey Goku, CATCH!"

And then the ball flew at Goku. So slowed were his reflexes from the horror that it slammed right into him. As the blood of the children continued to pour out and soak Goku's clothes, it carried him through several buildings before one finally collasped on them, burying him under tons of rubble.

"YOU…" hissed a voice behind Agony, and she turned to see Yamcha, agrier then he had ever been in his life at Agony's utter delight in taking the lives of the children.

"YOU…YOU…YOU…**MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

And then Yamcha flew at Agony, fists burning with rage and energy.

Agony didn't even move, and Yamcha brought his fist down on her right shoulder, chopping her arm right off. He reared back and prepared to attack again, and then suddenly Agony, almost bored, reached out and grabbed his throat with her other arm. Yamcha's eyes widened as a dagger of black energy flew from her palm and impaled itself right through his throat.

"Thank you little boy. Now go away. You bore me." Agony chuckled, and then, almost instantly, a new limb grew out from the stump of her right shoulder, bursting out. The sight was horribly familiar, and in the back of his mind, Yamcha made the connection.

__

Piccolo…she stole the extending power…and the ability to instantly re-grow limbs…

And then every single coherent thought in Yamcha's head was blasted away as Agony reached back her hand and plunged it into Yamcha's chest. Yamcha made a noiseless sound of horror as her fingers closed around his heart…

Then Ubuu was there, smashing Agony with a two-footed thrust kick to the jaw. Yamcha collasped, Agony's hand tore from his chest before his heart could be removed. Agony was thrown up and then hit the ground, plowing up the street for several hundred yards and sending abadonned cars flying into the air.

"Oh god, Yamcha…" Ubuu began in hopeless horror. Yamcha would never survive…

Then Dende was there.

"He's badly hurt, but I'm sure I can save him…" Dende said, his brow furrowing in concentration as he began to heal Yamcha's wounds. Ubuu turned back to Agony, flying at her as she was getting up and pummeling her. Slamming her into the air with a standing snap kick, Ubuu zapped above her and smashed her into a building.

"For you teacher. KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!!!!!!!!!!" Ubuu screamed, and threw the massive blue bolt of energy. What was left of Satan City shook as a huge mushroom cloud of dust rose into the sky.

Ubuu gave a grin of saitisfaction and prepared to dive to attack again.

Then Agony materilized behind him even as the last of her wounds healed up.

"Peek-a-boo."

Then a fist of pure stone slammed into Ubuu's back, snapping his spine like a twig and sending him tumbling to the ground. He hit the ground hard, feeling his legs break along with his right arm from the impact, and then there was just horrible numbness in his whole body.

Agony smiled as she landed and picked the paralized Ubuu up. He could only stare in horror into her demon eyes as she licked her lips.

Then something caught her eye. Ubuu couldn't move, so he couldn't see what Agony saw as she turned her head.

What Agony saw was Dende, finishing up his healing of Yamcha. So absorbed was he in the task that he never noticed the demon woman.

"So, that's how he got up before I could finish devouring him last time. It's little green man, with some sort of healing power. Well, we can't have that now, can we?" Agony said as she hoisted the paralized Ubuu above her head.

"Hey, God!"

Dende's eyes snapped up in horror as he heard the evil voice, and then they grew even larger when he saw she was focussed on him.

"CATCH!"

And then Agony threw Ubuu at Dende as hard as she could. Dende tried to move, but he was too slow. Ubuu's massive body struck him and he was slammed backwards, his head slamming into the concrete wall behind him as it was sandwitched between it and Ubuu's body. Dende collasped, his skull fractured and the darkness of unconsciousness swallowing him. Ubuu smashed his head falling to the ground and was devoured by the same darkness.

"Mmmmmm. Smorgasboard." Agony chuckled, and started walking to the prone trio.

"GREAT KICK SPECIAL!"

Agony's head turned at the ridiculous name before Goten's foot smashed into her face, sending her through the building next to the unconscious three and through the ones behind it in a crazy tumbling heap. As her broken body fixed itself, she looked up at the lone fighter she hadn't seen yet.

Goten looked at Agony, hate blazing in his heart. He knew he would need more power to beat her then he had, so after he had dropped Marron off and told her to be careful, he had retreated and begun to build up his ki. He'd pushed himself harder and harder, with his friend's face in his eyes and all their good memories flowing through his mind. He had hoped the other fighters could hold Agony long enough as he gathered every ounce of power he had, praying they would be safe and that it would work.

It had.

Agony looked at the now SSJ3 Goten and chuckled.

"I see you got a makeover. Wanted to look pretty when you join your friend? You never struck me as gay, but these days…" Agony laughed, her horrible spine-chilling laugh.

Goten clenched his fists so hard that blood began to drip from them as his nails cut into his palm.

"For everyone you've killed. For Gotenks. For Marron. For Trunks. And for me." He hissed.

Then he charged up and flew at Agony. Agony's eyes widened as his insane speed.

Then he was hammering her, pummeling her, letting loose on her with everything he had.

"WILD BOAR ATTACK! BRAIN CRUSH HAMMER! FINISH FLASH! GALATICA SUNDAE! HYPER PLASMA SHORTCAKE!" Goten yelled as he utilized all the goofy attacks he and Trunks had developed as Gotenks into a deadly arsenal of physical blows and ki blasts. They might have been useless on Majinn Buu, but they were smacking around Agony like it was no one's business, as Agony was smashed all over the city like a pinball in a machine. Her wounds healed, but her power seemed to be slowing down. _It's working! I'm winning!_

"RENZOKOKEN SHINE SHINE MISSILE!" Goten yelled as he used the thousands of ki blasts to pummel Agony straight through several other buildings. Agony pulled herself from the wreckage. She seemed groggy. Goten ground his teeth and decided to end it now.

"This is for you, Trunks." He said as he made some motions that Trunks would usually make, although he only used one of his hands.

"FINISH BUSTER!"

As the massive blast flew at Agony, the grogginess vanished from her eyes in a flash. She threw up her hands and sent a black blast out to counter it. Goten's eyes widened. _She's doing the Finish Buster too!_

Goten snarled. After all she had done, her using his best friend's attack was no more then blasphemy to him. The blasts were about equal, but Agony was using both of her hands. Goten was using one. And on the other one, blue energy suddenly exploded into life before he threw it forward.

"KAMEHAMEHA!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Agony's blast was smashed before the two combined powers. She had time for one scream before they enveloped her.

The explosion sent Goten flying backwards, the ground ripping up and flying alongside him as he tumbled. He bounced along the ground and finally came to a stop as the last of the windstorm buffeted him. He got to his knees and then to his feet as the dust cleared.

Nothing. No Agony. Goten looked all around him. She wasn't flying in the air. She wasn't behind him. She wasn't anywhere.

She was gone.

As he slipped back to normal, panting, Goten looked up and formed his fingers into a V.

"For you Trunks. Peace."

Then Agony materilized in front of him.

Goten's jaw nearly hit the ground. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, all he could do was stare at Agony. Agony smiled back at him, her twisted lobsided smile as she raised a finger and waved it as if to say "Naughty naughty." The boy thought his twin beams had done her in. They hadn't even come close to burning her away before she had fixed herself.

"How…?" Goten managed to squeek.

"Just as you can act brave boy, I can act scared. There is nothing more delicious then the collaspe of a person's heart when they have failed."

Goten didn't get to say anything else as Agony decked him, sending him flying backwards. He hit a metal wall hard and yelled in pain, then stared in horror at Agony as she slowly approached him. He had nothing left. He, like Trunks before him, had used up all his energy and it still hadn't been enough.

The fear grew worse and worse, as it's icy daggers plunged deeper and deeper into him. Agony smiled at the look she could see in Goten's eyes. She'd seen it many times. He didn't want to die. Not like this. The look never failed to delight her as she subjected her prey to the inevitable.

"Goten!"

Goten turned and an even greater fear filled his heart. Marron was heading towards him from another street. She'd seen him fly into the wall, but the buildings blocked her full view. Goten's heart, already an impossibly low temparature, plunged down to absolute zero when he realized Marron _couldn't see Agony._

"Marron! No! GET AWAY!" he screamed. Marron kept coming

"I've lost Mom and Dad, I won't lose you too! I'll get you a Senzu no matter…"

And then Marron turned the corner and saw Agony standing there. She stopped, frozen.

"Well, if it isn't the little girl."

Marron screamed as suddenly her hand was on fire. She dropped the burning bag of Senzu beans as she clutched her burnt appendage. As Agony sucked in the jolt of pain, Goten saw his last hope burn away to ashes.

Goten looked back at Agony and froze as he locked eyes with her.

Hell. Hell was in her eyes, a place beyond his comprehension and his wildest nightmares, a place where every soul burned in pain and violation beyond imaging, for all eternity, the only sound screams, cries, and Agony's mad laughter. He began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Do you see your fate, boy? That is where your friend is. But you can escape it, boy. All you have to do…is let me have her."

Goten looked over to Marron, who was looking at him, her eyes wide.

He thought of the hell in Agony's eyes, a place that everyone she killed went to.

He thought of Marron, her laughter, her smiles, her soft cries as they made love, her soft touch as they had sat under the moon making whispered promises.

And he thought of the neverending torment that lay within Agony's black heart.

"Take her…" he whispered. Marron's eyes went as wide as they could go.

"What did you say boy? I didn't hear you." Agony said, grinning.  
"I SAID TAKE HER!" Goten screamed as loud as he could. "TAKE HER! KILL HER! JUST GET AWAY FROM ME! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!!! **I WANT MY MOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**"

Agony smiled. It was just as she knew. When the chips were down, men threw anything in the path of their upcoming death. And for some strange reason, which she had seen many times, when death looked them in the face men regressed back to the beginning of their lives, as Goten continued to cry in utter fear for his mother. She turned her eyes from the pathetic sight, looking to Marron.

It didn't matter what Agony could do to her, the greatest pain Marron had ever felt and knew she would ever feel was when Goten had taken her heart and torn it in two. She looked at the man she had loved, as he continued to cry uncontrollably, the man who had given her to a demon to save his own hide. The concept that Goten had gone insane with fear didn't even raise its head in the pain.

She'd loved him, and he had betrayed her in a way that was beyond cheating, beyond leaving, even beyond killing her.

To save himself, he'd given her to Agony.

"You see that man, Marron? That is the real Goten, that is all men, greedy selfish little boys who in the end don't give a damn about anyone but themselves. Love is a lie, it always will be." Agony said. The pain coming from Marron was one of the sweetest she had ever tasted, as the young woman fell to her knees, the first tears leaking from her cheeks. Agony couldn't wait to taste the heart.

"Don't worry though. He'll be joining you after I'm done with you. And you can spend eternity knowing he subjected you to this fate, even as he suffers it as well…"

Marron looked up in Agony's face, not comprehending and not caring. Her mind was too shattered for it.

"Why so sad Marron? Did you expect a brave rescue, or maybe a sacrifice? HA! Humanity isn't like that! They're so self-serving, so greedy, so pathetic, that it even makes me sick. Why do you think I kill them? They have no redeeming qualities."

Agony smiled and reached out to Marron.

"Your parents are wai-ARRRGGGHHHHH!" Agony screamed as a blade of ki suddenly burst from her chest. And then suddenly she was in the air as Goten lifted her above his head, his crocodile tears switched off like a faucet.

"You may be able to act, Agony, BUT APPARENTLY YOU CAN'T RECOGNIZE A BAD ACTOR!" Goten yelled and hurled Agony across the street and into the nearest skyscraper. As Agony screamed in frustration and vanished into it, Goten let loose with all the energy he had managed to gather from the very corners of his being, throwing several dozen destructive blasts which collasped the building, burying Agony.

Goten turned to Marron, who knelt there, confused.

"Go-ten…? What…?"

"Oh Marron, oh god I'm sorry, I'm so sorry you had to hear that bullshit and think it was the truth. Oh god I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry…" Goten said as he knelt down and hugged the woman he loved, the woman he had always loved and had never planned to sacrifice.

"Goten…you didn't mean…?"

"Oh Marron…I knew Agony would never let us live long enough for me to gather what I had left and blast her. So when she asked, I lied…I put on a huge act and said all those godawful things…I needed to keep her attention on something other then me for a few seconds…so I said all that crap…and you thought I was serious. I couldn't send you any cues that it was all lies because I needed to make absolutely sure that Agony belived that crap. I would never sacrifice you, I love you…oh god I'm sorry please don't hate me…" Goten said, starting to cry as well.

Marron's mind wrapped around Goten's words. It had been an act. His crying, his screaming to take her, his begging for his mother, it had been an act. He'd pretended to give her up because it was the only way he could save her and himself.

Marron began to cry again, but this time they were tears of joy. Later, she might hate him for making her feel the way she had felt, but there might not be a later. It was better to live in the now, and now her heart was mending and she knew she loved Goten.

"OH GOTEN!" she cried, throwing her own arms around Goten. The couple knelt there in the destroyed street, crying and holding each other.

Then Agony burst from the building, screaming her rage. She'd been denied her pain, and that had made her angry enough. But what made her utterly furious was that once in a blue moon, she had been wrong. 

He had loved her after all, and now the only thing coming from them, despite their impending fate, were love and happiness.

And she couldn't _stand it._

Goten and Marron looked at Agony. In a small part of his mind, Goten realized he had never seen her angry before, and that in itself was a small victory.

"You two…so cute!" Agony spat. "Well, you can spent eternity together…IN HELL!"

And Agony brought her arms up and slammed them down, throwing a massive black bolt of energy at the couple.

As it flew at them, the two looked at each other. Marron knew. Goten had used everything up. His deepest reserves were dry. There was no way he could escape, not even by himself. 

"Goten, I love you."

"I love you too Marron. With all my heart."

Their lips met, and Goten held Marron tighter, waiting for the horrible pain, pain he was sure he could face as long as he held on to Marron, as long as he never let her go. No matter what fate Agony could inflict on him, it was all right as long as they died together, in each other's arms.

Breaking the kiss, Goten whispered in Marron's ear.

"No matter what happens, no matter what fate we suffer, I'll always be there for you. Always."

As one, the two closed their eyes as the blast, radiating the heat of Agony's hatred and shaking the ground around them, prepared to envelop them.

"BIG BANG ATTACK!"

A gold ki ball suddenly slammed into the blast, sending it off course. It missed Goten and Marron by inches as it flew by. Behind them, it exploded, blowing up a whole mile of the city.

Goten looked up.

With a magnificence that was almost royal, Vegeta floated down, his golden hair blazing with a seeming power of it's own. He slowly landed in front of the two, his eyes locked on Agony, seeing her for the first time and not losing any of his hatred of her for it.

"Vegeta…" Goten said. His father's worst enemy had saved them.

"Go Goten." Vegeta said, no emotion in his voice. Goten blinked. Vegeta had never called him by his name before. It was always "spawn of Kakarott" or "Kakarott the Third" or something simular. But he had no time for that. Still holding Marron, he fled, heading in the direction where he thought Dende and co had been left lying.

Slowly, Vegeta floated up until he was face to face with Agony. The two stared at each other, the distance of fifty or so feet almost seeming like inches.

"I've waited so long to get my hands on you." Vegeta said. His voice was laced with anger and an evil tone that rivaled Agony. "You took everything from me. You started with my princess. Then you took my wife, and then you took my son. Now I'm going to take everything from _you."_

Agony began to laugh, her composure regained despite failing to get the couple. She could always get them later.

"Oh, the father coming to avenge his children. How touching." She chuckled. "Would you like to see them?"

Vegeta blinked in confusion as Agony held out her hands.

And then as if they were alive and flesh and blood again, he could see them, floating in front of Agony. He drew in breath in sheer horror.

Bra was on a rack, slowly being stretched, screaming and crying.

Trunks was merely screaming as he lay on razor-sharp spikes, as larger and larger blocks were slowly placed on him to force his body down by inches by agonizing inches.

Agony snapped her fingers and the images suddenly drew back into her.

"Let's see if you taste as good as they did."

Every single coherent thought Vegeta could have was slapped away. He screamed so loud the buildings still standing around him were knocked down in a hail of wreckage as he exploded into SSJ3 and lanced at Agony. The two began to do battle as Vegeta tried to hit her and Agony danced away, mocking him.

"Missed. Missed. Missed again. Come on! You can-gurk!" Agony said as her words were cut off. Vegeta had feinted and then grabbed her throat from above her, driving her down. He slammed her into the concrete and bean pummeling her with fists to the face, screaming at her, his words being punctuated by his blows.

"I don't care *crack!* how many times *crack!* I have to *crack!* kill you *crack*, you are *crack* going to *crack* DIE!" Vegeta screamed, smashing Agony's face to pulp over and over as he tried to get ahead of her regenerating talent. But it was useless, and Agony let him know it by instantly regenerating her face after every blow. His hands slick with her blood, Vegeta kept pummeling Agony, smashing her face to pulp again. It reformed and smiled, only to find itself looking into Vegeta's palm.

"BIG BANG ATTACK!"

Vegeta was thrown off Agony by the point-blank range explosion. He did backward sommersaults away from the explosion and landed, waiting.

Slowly, Agony's body got up as her head regrew along with her upper torso. New arms popped from the stumps and she raised them as her hair suddenly extended and lanced at Vegeta, the strands now living nightmares with razor-sharp barbs at their ends.

"I went to a new world, don't know how and didn't care, I caught a midget troll man, and ate him with my hair!" Agony crooned in a twisted nursery rhyme.

Vegeta reached out and caught her hair, and it was then Agony realized that he was wearing armoured gloves. Her eyes widened.

"You want to sing nursery rhymes? Here's one!" Vegeta yelled as he yanked as hard as he could, pulling Agony right over his head and slamming her body back down on the ground. The ground broke and so did Agony's body.

"Here we go round the mulberry bush! The mulberry bush! The mulberry bush!" Vegeta yelled as he used Agony's hair to slam her all over the street and into the buildings, Agony's screams music to his ears as she tried to cut her hair off. He knew this wasn't hurting her in the end, but it was humilating her and that was just as good.

"Here we go round the mulberry bush!" Vegeta yelled, slamming Agony onto the ground again before throwing her into the air. "And here's a…FINAL FLASH!!!!!!!"

The blast burnt Agony down to blackened bones again, but her flesh began to instantly regenerate.

Then Vegeta was on it, pummeling the skeleton, ripping blackened bones and hunks of muscle off. The bones flew back and he blasted them to atoms and kept ripping, tearing, trying to keep her in pieces.

It was, in the end, a wasted effort. Vegeta felt the bones twitch and flew back as they suddenly twisted into a huge mouth with razor sharp bone teeth. The teeth closed down where he had been, nearly biting him in half, and then the bones went back into their normal positions as black energy flowed over them, and again Agony was complete.

She started to smile, but it was wiped off her face as Vegeta went to his maximum and began to pummel here again, ripping out and breaking everything he could get his hands on. But the screams were gone. Agony just kept laughing at him as he tried to kill her.

"You people are all the same. You seem to think that if you keep running head-first into a brick wall, something will happen to the bricks! Your skull is gonna be shattered long before the brick wall is, so why go on, Midget Troll Man?" Agony mocked.

And then it came, as Vegeta reared back his right arm as he poured so much power into it the muscles nearly bulged out from his skin, and slammed his fist into Agony's jaw. Her head flew right off as blood sprayed from her neck and gave Vegeta the latest coating of it. So fast did it fly that the black energy that erupted from the stump missed it, and the flying head turned to ashes as the flesh began to rebuild itself on the stump.

"Beause I realized, in the end, that vengeance is far better then despair." Vegeta said, as Agony's head regrew. Her eyes were filled with anger. She'd had to regrow her head before, but that was when it had been burned off. No one had ever knocked her head off with a physical blow and caused her to have to grow a new one to replace it, and it made her furious.

Then her eyes caught something. A white building, still standing due to its superior construction that protected against such things as earthquakes and mob riots. People were constantly being loaded out as the doctors and nurses finally saw enough peace in the chaos in Satan City to try and flee with their patients.

"Well well, look at that!"

Vegeta, despite himself, glanced down and his heart filled with ice. He'd been so focussed on killing Agony that he hadn't noticed where they had been fighting.

"You know, along with souls, I absorb memories. If your son's hasn't failed, that's the hospital where Bulma is staying!"

Vegeta's head snapped up as Agony raised her hand, black energy crackling on it.

"I don't like it, it's ugly!"

****

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Vegeta screamed, flying at Agony, intent on doing anything, anything at all, to stop her.

He didn't even notice the sword until it was too late.

Vegeta impaled himself right on Agony's arm, as she stretched it out to meet his charge as it formed into a sword. He opened his mouth and blood flew out as pain rush through him. She'd gotten him right through the heart.

As Vegeta, the strength leaving him rapidly, struggled and tried to feebly get off the blade, Agony met his eyes. She was grinning, pleased with herself.

"You never had a chance, Vegeta. You can have all the rage in the world, but you cannot kill death itself. And I am death. Now see how futile your efforts are!"

****

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Vegeta screamed, but there was nothing he could do, not even throw ki or punch or anything, as Agony hurled a blast at the hospital.

There were some faint screams and then the building collasped, burying the doctors and everyone in rubble.

Agony threw back her head and laughed to the heavens.

"Oh yeah! That feels so good!" she snickered as she looked at Vegeta. Her hand turned into knives as Vegeta looked at the woman who had taken everything from him.

"The family is dead, Vegeta. Yours have just, how shall we say, proved it in a way. Thanks for the pleasure. Goodbye, Midget Troll Man."

Agony reached out.

And then Gohan slammed his fist on the back of her head as hard as he could. Agony lurched and Vegeta flew off the blade, tumbling down to the wreckage of the hospital. He wanted to scream, to curse Agony for her trickery, for her cruelty, for her existence, Erik for bringing her to this world, and the creator of everything for letting a creature such as her exist.

But he couldn't say anything. He was too weak,and he noiselessly tumbled into the wreckage, not even making a sound when he landed,

Agony turned and Gohan decked her. She flew back. These constant interruptions while she was going for kills were really getting on her nerves.

Gohan cursed himself. He'd been careless, and thus Agony's attack had knocked him silly. He'd been out and missed the whole battle. Now Yamcha, Dende, and Ubuu were down, Vegeta was dead or would be dead soon, Goten was out of power, and his father was nowhere to be seen. Well, it was his fault for being careless. If he had to take the weight of the world on his shoulders, then so be it.

"I'm going to suck down your soul for that!" Agony yelled as she charged at Gohan.

And suddenly found the gas dispenser right in her face.

"Suck on this!" Gohan yelled, and pumped every bit of gas right into Agony's open mouth. Agony gagged and coughed, and Gohan waited until she was looking up before he put on his act of fear.

"Oh no! It didn't work! How…" Gohan pretended to say. Agony snapped her hands out and formed them into knives. Gohan turned and flew away at top speed. He had to get Agony to chase him, get her mind utterly consumed with his death, and then pray the gas worked.

"Hey! Come back here!" Agony yelled, flying after Gohan, planning to rip his heart out slowly for that annoying gas, even if it hadn't done anything.

A trail of blood was left on the ground as Vegeta crawled along the wreckage. He was dying and he knew it. He wanted to do a million things, like curse the unfairness of Agony, or recite his saiya-jin funeral montage. But all he could think of was crawling to the place where he thought he had glimpsed a bit of green hair.

Yes. He had been right.

Bulma lay there, somehow having escaped being buried by wreckage. Vegeta crawled to her side and somehow managed to get to his knees as his life's blood poured from him. A human would have died long ago, but Vegeta was a saiya-jin, and an Elite one. But he was on his very last legs.

"Woman?' he asked softly, cradling her head. "Bulma? Green Locks? My love?"

There was nothing. Vegeta, although darkness was starting to come on the edge of his vision, reached down and felt for a pulse. There was none. She was gone. She had escaped being crushed, but the collaspe and fall had broken her neck.

"Green Locks…" Vegeta whispered. He looked up at the sky. He could still see Agony, chasing Gohan around with knife-fingers.

Once, Vegeta had called himself pure evil, and had believed he was in order to get the power of the Super Saiya-jin. That day was long ago, but Vegeta remembered it like it was yesterday.

He had been wrong. He hadn't been pure evil. He hadn't even been evil, just good, determained, and deluded by the ideals of his long-dead race.

What chased Gohan, the woman who laughed and reveled in death and pain, was pure evil. There was nothing else that could be. Agony had taken everything from him, and she had laughed, but there was more to it then that.

Freiza had laughed, but he had been quick.

Cell has done it, but he took no enjoyment in it, seeing it as a necessity or an end to a means.

Buu had laughed as well, but he too had been quick.

Freiza had commited genocide because he was afraid or to dispose of those who could oppose him.

Cell had done it for power.

Buu had done it because he had been created for it.

Agony had done it for the _sheer hell of it._

"Green Locks…"

Slowly, a tear fell on Bulma's dead face. It was join by a twin, and then another and another.

For the first time in his life, Vegeta cried over something that was worth crying over. Screw his pride. Pride could rebuild itself. But it could never bring back what he truly cared about: his family.

In the end, being a warrior had given him nothing.

Being a husband and a father, even though he hadn't realized it until now, had given him true joy.

Death came for Vegeta, it's clammy hand opening to seize him.

And then it was chased away by a warm glowing light that suddenly infused Vegeta. As his tears continued to fall on his dead wife, Vegeta wasn't even aware of his wounds healing from the sheer power of the light or the strange tingling as the power surged into him…

"GOD DAMN IT! STOP RUNNING!" Agony screamed. Gohan had been leading her on for minutes and she was sick of it. She wanted a kill, and she wanted it _now._

Goten and Marron watched in horror as they knelt over the still unconscious bodies of Dende, Yamcha, and Ubuu.

And in a building on the very outskirts of what was left of Satan City, Goku, his outfit tore to shreds and still soaked in the blood of dead children, finally pulled himself from the wreckage. He searched out ki's and found a strong one and several weak ones. He immediately teleported to the weak ones.

"Toussan!" Goten said as his father materilized.

"Dear Kami…" Goku said as he saw the situation of Dende, Yamcha, and Ubuu. He reached into his boot and pulled out a Senzu bean.

"I always keep this with me for emergencies. Give it to Dende and have him heal the others. I'm going to help Gohan!"

"Dad, be careful. He sprayed her with the gas. He needs to keep her focussed on him so that her mind will be obssessed with killing him and thus…" Goten said.

"Yeah. I'll stay out of the way." Goku said, flying up.

Finally, the boy was tired. Agony grinned fiercely. Time for the kill.

Gohan turned as Agony landed behind and walked toward him, grinning, although her eyes blazed with anger. She was grinning through clenched teeth for sure, which meant she either really hated him or she really wanted the kill. Gohan hoped it was the latter.

"Mercy!" he said. So focussed on Gohan was Agony she never saw Goku flying up behind his son.

"Mercy is for the weak! I grow tired of this game!" Agony grinned.

She raised her knife fingers.

All the remaining Z Fighters prayed.

"Die!"

Agony swung her hands down to cut Gohan's face to ribbons. 

The look on her face when she realized something was wrong was worth everything.

"WHAT?"

And then her hands curved inward, jamming the knives through her own chest and directly into her heart. Blood sprayed from her mouth, and Gohan leapt to his feet and away from it as if it might be toxic, as a look of pure disbelief came over her face.

"What…how…no…this isn't possible…I didn't want this…no, I'm Agony, I can't die…nooooooooooo…" Agony wheezed.

And then she fell forward, as her terrible eyes rolled up and closed. She landed and did not move.

Gohan held his breath.

And as a pool of blood continued to spread under Agony's body, Gohan let it out. It was over. At long last it was over. He leapt in the air and whooped, pumping his fist at the success of his idea.

"Gohan, did it work?" Goku asked in confused delight.

"It worked Toussan! She's dead! The bitch is dead!" Gohan yelled.

Down on the ground, Goten and Marron heard Gohan's yells. Marron's face lit up, Goten's became solemn. Dende danced a little, and then realized he looked like an idiot and got to finishing his healing of Yamcha and healing Ubuu.

"Your parents are avenged." Goten said

"As is Trunks." Marron replied. "Now we just have to clean it all up."

"I'm sure we can find the Dragon Radar in Bulma's lab. Once the balls are gathered, we'll wish everyone back. If it can't be done, we'll go to New Namek and use theirs…"

Up on the roof, Gohan was doing all the goofy poses he did as the great Saiyaman, and Goku was standing on the rooftop, clapping and giving them good reviews. Gohan had done the seemingly impossible, and he deserved to do anything he wanted. Finally, he ran out of moves and turned back to his father.

"We did it Dad. We won. Good conquered evil. I just wish Erik could have seen this."

Goku thought of Erik's tumble. Despite his greater power then the average human, no one could have survived a tumble into the burning building the way he had, at least someone who wasn't a Z Fighter.

"I'm sure wherever he is, he's rejoicing. And I'm sure that as long as he's in this world, we can bring him back."

Gohan smiled. His father was right.

"Come on father. Let's go…"

Then Gohan saw the shock wash over Goku's face like water, and his heart leapt as he tried to turn.

And then the sword slammed through his chest, and he screamed to the heavens.

"GOHAN! NO! IT'S…IT'S…" Goku gasped as Agony slowly got up from where she had lain, smiling as the sword-arm she had shoved through Gohan when his back had turned.

"No…you stabbed yourself…you can't heal your own injuries…how are you still alive…" Gohan said, his voice a reedy whisper from the pain. Down on the ground, Goten and Marron's eyes grew as wide as saucers, and Yamcha and Ubuu, now healed, looked up at the horrible sight. Dende began to tremble all over. What had gone wrong?

"Oh no…big brother…" Goten said. Fear exploded in his heart, stronger then ever. If the gas hadn't worked…what possibly could? He reached over and held Marron, who held him back as tightly as she could.

"That…was a clever trick. I will give you that. But there's something you didn't know. Yes, if I hurt myself I won't heal, but I also have the greatest sense of survival that ever existed. The concept of killing myself while trying to kill someone else is the most alien thought I could ever have. In other words, the thought wasn't mine me at all, and my power knows that. It was clever, but in the end, you might as well have tried to stab me yourself, because me getting a sudden uncontrollable urge to do myself in, even by sudden misfiring commands in my muscles…well, it ain't me. After that…it was just a matter of playing dead and waiting for you to turn your back."

Gohan shuddered from the knowledge. They had been so close, and yet so far.

"I'll give you one thing though. You have some serious backbone, Son Gohan." Agony said in an evil whisper, and Gohan felt her knife-fingers gently stroking his spine.

And then Agony suddenly reared him above her head.

"But not anymore!" Agony concluded. Gohan gathered the last of his strength and screamed.

"TOUSSSSSSSSSSAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!"

"GOHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Goku said, finally getting over his shock enough to try and leap forward, and somehow save his son.

But he was far too late.

Gohan screamed as Agony punched his fist into his back and tore his entire spinal cord out with a wet ripping snap. Despite the wound, he kept screaming, which finally faded into nothingness.

"Gohan…" Goku said, not believing it. He trembled in utter grief, unable to move even as Agony reached into Gohan's back and pulled his heart out from the inside. Goku couldn't think rationally anymore. Agony seemed to be able to defy any law of reality she chose. When it came to defeating a foe like that, Goku drew a blank.

Agony's sword arm slowly turned back into a hand as she lifted Gohan's corpse above her head, even as his soul was pulled, screaming, into her heart.

"Here is Son Gohan, the man who tried to kill me. He failed just like all the others. Take him and BURY HIM!"

Goku managed to get enough thought through his grief-overwhelmed mind to reach up and catch his dead son, and then it shut down again, eve as he stumbled backwards from the weight and fell off the skyscraper.

"Toussan! Big brother!" Goten said, his words full of despair. His eyes were pulled away from their falling bodies as Marron pointed at something.

"LOOK!"

The building Agony was on began to shake, and then suddenly all the buildings still standing in Satan City began to shake.

"What's this?" Agony whispered to herself.

And then all the buildings remaining were suddenly blown to pieces as a gigantic wave of force flew from Agony's body. Gohan and co were sent flying through the air as the building underneath Agony shook and collasped. Despite the firestorm of wreckage, Goten had regained enough strength left to fly and did so, holding Marron to him. The wind slammed against them like a million small hammers, but he held his ground, or rather his air. Despite the tremendous waves of force, Yamcha, Ubuu, and Dende fought their way to Goten's side as he gaped at Agony.

"No………."

The aura surrounding Agony was one he was all too familiar with, and she continued to give off waves of power so great it pounded all the wreckage left in Satan City to dust.

"God damn it! I've never felt anything so powerful!" Yamcha cursed as shrapnal pelted them. Ubuu threw up his hands and formed a ki shield around the group. Agony's laughter reached them, horrible _triumphant_ laughter.

"Goten, what's going on?" Marron cried, terrified.

"She…absorbed…Gohan's…Mystic…Ability." Goten said, having to fight to get each word out, it horrified him so much.

"Mystic?" Marron asked.

"It was a power given to him by the Kaioushin to defeat Majinn Buu. It links to your ki and augments it a thousandfold…" Dende said as the full meaning hit him, along with the horror.

"No! You're not telling me…" Yamcha began.

"Agony now has all the power of Tien, Chaozu, Trunks, Krillian, Eighteen, Piccolo, and Gohan's kis combined…multiplied by a thousand. The power she has now makes Majinn Buu look like Mr. Satan." Dende said. His voice had gone dead.

"Oh…my…god…" Marron said, getting the full scope of it.

"That's pretty much it." Ubuu said solemnly. Goten looked at him.

"What?"

"With all that power, Agony is now officially a god."

Agony was in heaven. Forget this world. This world was nothing. With the power she had now she could burn down every single existence there was. She could fulfill her dream of ultimate destruction, a universe of nothing but death.

Agony's eyes turned to the group flying about a mile away. The poor fools hadn't even bothered to hide themselves, even though some exceptionally tough buildings had somehow managed to survive her ascent to the new messiah of everything.

Godhood and death to everything could wait. She was going to finish business, and have some fun while doing it.

"AGONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Agony turned and her eyes widened slightly. It was impossible. 

Vegeta floated in the air, looking apon Agony with no fear. Vegeta had changed greatly. He had torn off his shirt and red fur now sprouted along his chest and arms. His black hair had grown even longer and now tumbled down his back in a mane of night. And the most obvious thing was the newly re-grown tail, which lashed around Vegeta in anticipation of battle.

As he looked apon Agony, Super Saiya-jin Level 4 Vegeta raised a finger and pointed at her as if he was marking her with a brand.

"You're dead."

__

To Be Continued

Editor's Note: Yes yes, don't write in the reviews that this is the "wrong" way to go SSJ4! They way it was done in GT could be looked at several ways, and I say the trigger is sorrow and grief. Just tell me how much you liked the story. The more you stroke my ego (telling me how much you liked certain parts is always good in doing that, hint hint), the quicker I'll have the final chapter out. Did I mention SSJ4 Vegeta's power is equal to Agony's? See ya soon.


	7. Gossamer Threads

Chapter 7

__

"The rage of a thousand shall spring forth, and unleash the ultimate revenge."

Mike Steele
    
    Goku's eyes fluttered open as he slowly raised his head. Once again, his saiya-jin roots had saved him, for if he had landed full on his head as a human he would be dead… Dead…

Gohan.

Slowly, Goku crawled over to the prone body of his oldest son. Mercifully, Gohan had landed on his back so the terrible wound Agony had inflicted on him was concealed.

Goku was perhaps lucky in a horrible way. The fact that Agony had tore out Gohan's spine had caused his muscles to go completely limp before rigor mortis set in, thus keeping Gohan's face from being locked in an eternal scream. But Goku didn't get off completely. Gohan's eyes were still open, and even though they were glazed with death, they were still full of horror and a plea for his father to help him. It had been a plea Goku couldn't answer because his own mind and body couldn't accept that even after everything they had done, Agony was alive, kicking, and more vicious then ever.

As Goku cradled Gohan's head in his lap, he remembered all the times they had had together. He remembered holding him when he was born, marveling that he had created this life and that he was now responsible for it. He remembered having to get Gohan out of various messes he had somehow gotten himself into when he was a child. He remembered his feeling of pride after seeing how well he fought against Vegeta and Freiza. He remembered the years of training with him preparing for the andriods and later for Cell. He remembered how his son had grown up and had accomplished both his parents's dreams. For Chi-Chi, he had become a great scholar and scientist, and for him…even though he had slowed it down, he never lost his love of fighting. No one with a saiya-jin's blood ever did.

"Gohan…" Goku sobbed, and then the crying overtook him. And as all the sorrow and grief that Goku had felt as Agony caused tragedy after tragedy finally overwhelmed him, tears began to fall on Gohan's blood-stained gi.
    
    Goten had thought the waves of force that he had felt when Agony had accessed and activated her new Mystic talent was great.

He hadn't seen anything yet.

The waves of power that were coming off Agony and Vegeta's battle were so strong that even he couldn't stand before them. Every time he felt that invisible push, he was knocked back, along with everyone else, a few feet.

And it was quite clear that Agony seemed to be overmatched. She'd finally gone and shoved Vegeta to a place where no one had ever dared to put him. Vegeta utterly mad with rage was bad enough, but Agony had kept pushing even then, and she'd shoved Vegeta out of that circle and into a whole new one.

Rage can be a great factor in revenge, but it is a hard to control emotion, and also an irrational one. In war, an ultra powerful weapon may lose some of its usefulness if it's hard to aim and doesn't always hit.

But Vegeta had gone beyond rage. He had gone straight into the realm of true murderous hatred, which can always be characterized by one thing: a strange and utter calm, behind which lurked a violence that, once unleashed, would have to be seen to be believed.

When Agony had first tried to impale the now SSJ4 Vegeta, he had just floated there. Then he had grabbed the blade in mid-move, reached down and grabbed Agony's leg, and had literally, while her bones broke and her muscles tore and shredded, tied Agony into a knot. 

And Goten knew he was going to see something special.

Agony, although the new way of hurting her had been fun (to her anyway), was not pleased that Vegeta was still alive and had just made a fool of her. Charging up, she held up her hands.

Flesh became metal as her hands formed into a pair of razor sharp circular buzzsaws, which turned on via an unknown yet horrifying power.

"Feel the buzz!" Agony chortled, leaping at Vegeta, who still floated in the air calmly as Agony lunged at him with the deadly appendages.

As they were about to enter his chest, Vegeta calmly reached down and grabbed the blade-arms below the saws. His face twisted in pure abhorrence.

"YOU FIRST!"

And then even Goten felt a little sick as Vegeta shoved Agony's own buzzsaws into her face. The weapons sawed in, spraying sliced flesh, blood, and bone chips. Agony reeled backwards, then yanked the saws from her face, as they reformed into hands as her face healed.

"Ok, you wanna play rough?"

Agony reached down and then pointed to a mountain in the distance, and suddenly the gigantic chunk of rock was ripped from the ground and hurled straight at Vegeta as Agony blurred away, smiling. The sheer speed utterly horrified Goten. The force it would have taken to move something so big so fast, and even worse that it had been done _mentally._

Vegeta didn't move. The gigantic rock slammed into him and then cracked in half on impact. It didn't even mess up his hair.

Then Vegeta pointed at the two chunks of rock, and they stopped in mid-fall and vanished.

And re-appeared, one on either side of Agony, who was floating a short distance away.

Vegeta snapped his fingers as Agony realized what he was trying to do.

She only had time to scream as the two huge rock pieces slammed back together with her in between them,

SPLAT!

Vegeta wasn't saitisfied. He brought the rock chunks apart again and then slammed them together again. And again, and again, and again, re-squashing Agony's body as the flattened mess tried to get away to heal.

Finally he kept the rocks together and blasted it, and Goten threw up his arms as he was pelted with shrapnal.

The smoke billowed and cleared to reveal Agony in the last stages of healing.

She was still smiling.

"Ok, fine! You really want to be humilated? I'll fight you on your own-ARGH!" Agony screamed as Vegeta darted forward and punched Agony in the face. She went through one of the few remaining buildings and then Vegeta was on her, pummeling her mercilessly with millions of blows done in seconds. The damage added up fast, but it was healed just as fast.

But Agony did not seem to be having fun.

Goten understood. You could do anything to Agony while she thought the fight was a game. Her mind was just too twisted in that state to let anything offend her. But when it turned serious, as it was now, and she was shown up, it appears she had a pride that could be wounded just like any normal fighter. It was a rare flaw in a woman that seemed to have an uncrackable shell of evil and madness.

But it was also a flaw you didn't want to harp on, because the consequences could be lethal.

Agony threw up her hand and suddenly the air was full of Kienziens.

Goten's eyes widened.

"That's Poppa's attack!" he heard Marron say, but he could only stare, agog, as Agony hurled them all at Vegeta in a blazing nightmare puzzle pattern. Goten saw her plot: throw so many of the sharp dics in crazy ways that Vegeta might fly right into one while trying to avoid them.

Or fly into Agony while trying to avoid them.

And his amazement only furthered as Vegeta dodged every single one before flying into Agony and smashing her with a kick. Agony carved a line across the burnt, cratorous landscape that Satan City now was.

Agony was up and healed in a second, but Vegeta was immediately in her face again, pummeling her.

Agony looked furious, but then her fury turned into a grin, and she pointed at Vegeta.

"What?" Vegeta said.

And then he suddenly felt a horrible burning in his gut. The pain was so bad he doubled over, clutching his midriff as he gasped in pain. Agony flew forward as her hands turned into blades again.

"It's too bad I won't be able to blow your guts out from within, but…" Agony said as she drew back her hands to cut Vegeta's head off, his immense pain keeping him from defending himself.

Then Vegeta looked up, a wicked smirk on his face. The pain had been great at first, but his new powers had allowed him to disspell Agony's distracting trick without too much effort. The look on her face that she had fallen for a ruse like Goten's, AGAIN, was priceless, but it wasn't there for long because her face was promptly smashed to pulp, along with the rest of her body.

Grabbing the mess Agony's body was, Vegeta suddenly zapped forward at speed beyond imagining, as he felt Agony's body writhe in his hands, a twisting shifting mass that gave off a horrible heat as it tried to heal. Vegeta did a quick U-Turn and zapped close to the ground, dragging Agony with him and hoping she would be too concentrated on healing to try and turn her body into something that could be quite painful if it got ahold of Vegeta.

"You know, if we hit the ground going at this speed, you could grind off over 100 pounds of flesh. By the way, I think you could lose some weight!"

And then Vegeta let Agony go and zapped up and away as she hit the ground and burned across it. Blood sprayed in a long straight path as the ground turned her into hamburger.

Vegeta flew up, thrust out his hands, and completed the assult with a blistering barrange of ki blasts that make the Renzokoken Shine Shine Missile look like nothing. As explosions ravaged the landscape, Goten leapt backwards, picking up Marron at the same time, as the blasts came within feet of the group. The wind buffeted him as he landed about a mile away.

"You think he got her?" Yamcha asked, looking at the massive cloud of smoke and dust as it blew away.

On the ground, a piece of blackened material stirred, and then suddenly flew into the air. More pieces followed it, until they had all joined together in the air, forming a bizzare skeleton in which over 2/3 of the parts were missing. Due to the smoke, Vegeta couldn't see this clearly as he floated above it, waiting.

But he saw the figure break from the clouds as black energy flowed over it.

As Agony floated up into the air, the last of her wounds healing up, she knew this was far too close for her liking. She and Vegeta were too equally matched in power, although where he had found the power within him to match hers she didn't know. But she needed more.

And she knew just where to get it.

Vegeta watched as Agony threw up her hands and his eyes widened slightly as a massive ball of black energy formed above her.

"Hey Vegeta! Hope you don't mind if I do some redecorating!" 

And then she thrust her hand forward, and the ball, acting as some kind of focusser, expanded and let loose with a massive black energy bolt. Vegeta raised his arms to block.

But the bolt flew right by him.

Vegeta's eyes widened in alarm. She hadn't been aiming at him! He spun as the blast flew off into the distance.

In the city of Tokyo, only a few people got a look at the terrible light heading towards them before they were all suddenly on fire from within. But the attack seemingly swallowed all their screams.

And then there was an explosion that shook the world, and Vegeta was hurled backwards as the landscape beyond Satan City exploded. So were Goten and his friends, sending tossing through the winds like rag dolls. Goten grabbed Marron and used his body as a shield to keep her from getting hit with shrapnal. The landing was painful, but they all lived.

Vegeta had managed to keep himself in the air. He looked at the place where Agony had fired and his mouth dropped.

All of Japan that had been north of Satan City was no longer there. All there was was a massive crator that the sea was already rushing to fill in. Everyone who had lived there, man, woman, child, native, visitor, everyone, was dead.

And all their souls, millions apon millions of them, now belonged to Agony.

Vegeta turned and looked at her. Her face was in utter exctasy as she claimed them all. All their pain and agony would fuel her well, and give her the much-needed boost she had needed.

His teeth ground as fury once again exploded in Vegeta's heart. Those people hadn't been involved in the battle at all, and she had killed them anyway for the hell of it!

The concept that she might have done it to make herself even stronger was lost on him as he flew at her, punching at her face.

She blurred away at the last second. Vegeta gaped. _How…?_

Then a foot slammed into the back of his head. Dazed, Vegeta was knocked forward. He spun around, trying to get his bearings.

A fist smashed into his face, and he felt his nose twist painfully as Agony began slapping him repeatly

"Why, why, does this Vegeta guy, think he can actually win I really would like to know why…" Agony crooned in a rip-off of "American Pie". The slaps didn't hurt much and that allowed Vegeta to get his bearings. He ducked under her last blow, and as she spun around from the momentum, he cocked back his fist and when she had turned around again, pistoned it with every ounce of strength he had right between her eyes.

It was like hitting a brick wall.

Vegeta gasped as the shovewave of pain ran all the way up to his shoulder as Agony smiled.

"You see, Midget Troll Man, as I have said, you can have all the rage in the world, and you can have even more. But rage simply won't work. You just don't seem to get that rage invaribly is always about causing pain to something, whether in survival or any other way. And I am pain. And I am also death, as it is about time you found out!"

Vegeta realized what Agony was going to do and he tried to fly away.

He almost made it.

The barbed blade slammed through his shoulder, and he screamed as blood poured from the wound and began to soak his now-furred chest and right arm. He tried to pull himself off the blade, but that only resulted in more pain as the razor-sharp thorn extensions ripped up his shoulder as he tried to pull the blade off.

Slowly, he felt himself being drawn forward, as Agony once again utalized the power she had stolen from Piccolo to bring the blade she had turned her arm into to bring Vegeta to her.

Vegeta's mind began to fade as darkness began to creep onto the edges of his vision, and he realized it was Agony again, trying to dull him down enough to deliver a fatal blow. He fought it, but after absorbing the souls of most of the population of Japan, Agony was simply too strong.

"This time, it definitely ends, Vegeta. You fought hard, but it was futile. And you dare call yourself the strongest being in the universe. A tad arrogant, perhaps?" Agony chuckled. Vegeta looked into her burning eyes, and then he gathered what little strength he had left and spat in her face.

Agony just smirked.

"Is that all you can do, Vegeta? Hurl saliva at me? Maybe you should beg for mercy, I might let you try and have a more noble death."

"I will burn in your hell, any hell, for all eternity and beyond, before I _ever_ beg you for mercy!" Vegeta rasped.

Agony just smirked again, her twisted lobsided grin, and suddenly Vegeta could hear screaming in his ears as she brought her other hand up. He knew he was hearing the hell that existed within Agony.

Agony wasn't going to give Vegeta the luxary of knives. She was going to dig his heart out of his chest with her bare hand.

"Hear that, Vegeta? That's your family, and soon, you'll all be together again."

Agony reached forward, and Vegeta felt her fingers press onto his chest and braced himself. No matter what happened, he wouldn't scream.

Then he suddenly did scream as Agony's blade arm was yanked right out of his shoulder, and violently. The pain was so great that his vision doubled and tripled in front of him. His concentration shattered like glass, and he fell earthward yet again.

In the corner is his rapidly fading vision, he could see Goten, or at least his back. He'd hit Agony so hard the blade had been pulled out, but it wouldn't help them. If he couldn't defeat Agony at the level of SSJ4…then no one could.

His shoulder pouring blood, the wound not mortal but feeling like it, Vegeta again fell to earth, not knowing whether to thank Goten for saving him or curse him for not letting him die then.

As Agony's jaw, knocked off by Goten's furious kick, replaced itself, she turned baleful eyes on the young hybrid, who floated before her, her ablaze in the gold colour of SSJ.

"Damn it. First your brother, now you! You must really like that midget troll man if you decided you want to die before him, just like your brother!" Agony said, annoyance in her voice. It was a small victory, but Goten needed a much bigger one.

"Gohan died trying to kill you, which may be the noblest way to die, no matter the circumstances. I don't know how, but I will find a way to kill you. For my brother, my father, and for the future of the woman I love!"

Goten flew at Agony, fists cocked.

Agony floated there lazily.

Then Ubuu slammed into her back as hard as he could, and Agony was pitched forward with a gasp into Goten's vengeful fists. Yamcha came from the side and the three began to pummel her.

It only lasted a few seconds before Agony lashed back, hurling a myraid of black energy bolts. Goten and Ubuu dodged away. Yamcha wasn't so lucky. He yelled as one of the bolts grazed his shoulder. He threw out his uninjured arm and fired several ki blasts that struck Agony and sent her flying. Ubuu zapped behind her, smashed her with an axehandle, and blasted her with his own barrage of blasts. Her body was buffeted back to Goten, who nailed a vicious axe kick that sent Agony flying backwards again.

"Kamehameha!" Yamcha yelled, throwing the blue bolt with his good arm.

"KAMEHAMEHA!" Ubuu yelled, throwing his own.

"KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!" Goten screamed, and threw the largest of the three blasts.

The windstorm kicked up by the massive explosion sent all three flying backwards. They righted themselves and threw out their hands, blasting the site where Agony had been, not even waiting for the smoke to clear. The smoke cloud expanded instead, until it had completely engulfed the three and they had to stop as it seared their lungs.

In the air, the three fighters waited.

On the ground, Dende and Marron watched, eyes wide, hoping for a miracle.

Then a low chuckling floated to the ears, and their hopes shattered even as their hearts filled with ice.

The smoke cleared as Agony finished up her healing, chuckling and looking at the three with amused eyes.

__

She's invincible. There's no way to stop her. No matter what we do, we can't destroy her. Her body just won't die…because she is death itself. Goten thought in a moment of despair.

Then he thought of Marron, crying herself to sleep in his arms over her parent's murder, and Gohan, struck down from behind with a coward's blow.

The despair was struck down. Nothing was invincible, and Agony would die. For all the crimes she had commited.

"ARGH!" Goten screamed, and zapped forward with Yamcha and Ubuu to renew an attack they all knew was ultimately futile.

"How are they going to stop her? They've hit her with everything and she just keeps regenerating as if nothing has happened! She's unstoppable!" Marron said, her eyes wide. Dende stood beside her, his eyes calm. He had finally come to accept that the earth seemed to be doomed, and there was no point in panicking over it.

"Perhaps we won't be the ones to defeat Agony. Perhaps greater powers will be needed, powers even we can't conceive of. Some things are just not meant to be…maybe this is one of them." Dende said in a moment of cynical philosophy. Agony was just toying with the three remaining fighters. It was clear in her body language and in her voice tone. Vegeta had been wounded again, perhaps killed, perhaps still dying. Goku had vanished after his son had been killed, and the way he had fallen off the building suggested that he would no longer have the state of mind needed to fight or do anything. Agony's bloodshed, slaughter, and sheer joy in it may have finally overwhelmed Goku's mind. To defeat an enemy, you must ultimately know them, and Dende didn't think anyone could know Agony without going mad first.

Because that was what she was. A seemingly invincible, unstoppable, consuming madness.

"Dende?" Marron whispered, and the young Namek who had lost seemingly everything in the space of a few hours turned to the young woman. She would have made a beautiful bride, he couldn't help thinking, but there would no marriage. Only a funeral.

And then eternal torture.

"If Goten falls…I want you to kill me too. By your hand will be far quicker and more merciful…then anything she would do."

Dende stared for a moment. Then he nodded.

If Goten fell, Dende would grant her a merciful death.

And then he would do the same for himself.

Videl's horror had been tremendous when news broke of the destruction of Satan City. Then the news of the seeming destruction of nearly all of Japan had caused it to grow more, and she had made the decision that she had been toying with. She had called Pan to her, and together they had flown off, heading towards Satan City, or what was left of it. Some might have called them fools or suicidal, but Videl would much rather be with her husband then at her house, watching as society fell apart around them.

Plus, there might be something they could do to help.

Videl looked over to her little daughter. When she had entered and won the Tenkaichi Budokai at the age of four, Videl knew her little daughter would be a great warrior. But she was only eleven years old, and while incredibly strong, she was nowhere near the levels of many of her relatives, and if they hadn't been able to put a dent in Agony…

Videl's mothering instincts warred within her. She didn't want her little daughter to fight and get hurt or killed…

But she knew that if Agony won, death would eventually come to all of them anyway.

In the end, it was better to face it face to face, rather then have it stab you in the back as you tried a hopeless attempt to flee.

Beneath them, panic reigned, as people tried to get away from the fate that had been inflicted apon their fellows. Some screamed the end was near. Others screamed that Cell was back. Some were screaming were Videl's father to save them. Despite the gravity of the situation, Videl smirked. She loved her father, but there would be nothing he could do here, not even with his friend Buu. Plus she had no idea where they had gone on their vacation and she didn't have time to track them down.

"Mother, are you sure you're ok with this?" Pan said as she looked over to her mother. It was usually her father that encouraged fighting, not her mother, and thus when Videl had told them they were heading to join her father in battle, Pan had been taken aback. The fact that her mother looked so zoned out didn't make her feel any better.

Videl silently nodded.

Then her jaw dropped, and Pan turned to see what was left of Satan City.

"Oh my…"

The city named after her grandfather was gone, with the exception of a few buildings that somehow were still standing, but looked to be on their last legs. All the rest was blackened, destroyed ground, in which great pillars of rock extended from the constant powerful shockwaves that ripped into the ground and shook it like an earthquake.

"Pan, fly low!" Videl said, pointing at the sky, and in the distance Pan could see several figures attacking a lone figure that was female.

Agony. The one who had killed Bra, and everyone else.

Agony was concentrating on the three fighters attacking her, and thus didn't notice the woman and girl fly down into the ruins of the city. Videl quickly located Dende. It wasn't too hard, he was standing out in the open.

"Videl!" he said in amazement. Marron turned her eyes away from the battle and looked in her own amazement as Videl and Pan landed next to Dende.

"Videl! Pan! What the hell are you doing here? It's dangerous! It's beyond dangerous!" Marron said. Videl looked at the young woman, who looked like she had walked through hell and then turned around and walked through it again.

"I figured that in the choice of waiting until Agony decided to come after me, or going after her, the latter would serve me my fate quicker, whatever it may be. Where's Gohan? Is he hurt?" Videl said as she glanced up. Pan was watching the battle with rapt attention. It appeared Agony was fighting with Ubuu, Goten, and Yamcha. Her eyes narrowed inquistively.

__

Where's my fath…

The potential answer hit her, and she turned around and looked at Dende just as her mother did. Dende had slowly lowered his head.

The meaning hit Videl right between the eyes, and all her good intentions were swallowed by overwhelming grief.

"No…not Gohan…" she squeeked, her voice on the point of a sob.

"I'm…sorry…" Dende began.

That was all Videl needed to hear, as she collasped to her knees and began to weep uncontrollably. Pan, even as her own tears started to come as the realization that her father was dead too hit her, ran to her mother's side.

Videl tried to form words, but they were drowned out in cries of pure grief. She had come here to help her husband. Now her husband was dead, and nothing else mattered.

"Daddy…" Pan whispered to herself, even as she and her mother held each other. Dende turned away, the pain stabbing at his heart again. Marron went over to the two crying women, trying to provide comfort that would not be coming for a long time.

Agony suddenly felt the waves of new pain coming from the ground, and she glanced down. It was grief, a grief she hasn't tasted before.

Ubuu flying forward and planting both his feet in her face rudely interrupted her experience. She reeled back, spat out broken teeth even as they fixed themselves, and raised her fingers up and pointed at Ubuu. Ubuu blinked and then dodged aside as Agony fired the Makkankosappo at his head. It flew off into the distance and blasted water skyward in the new ocean body where Japan had once been.

Ubuu stopped and prepared to attack again as Goten and Yamcha drew themselves on other sides of Agony and prepared to do the same.

Agony glanced around herself.

"Ok, fun's over. I grow tired of this."

And then from her body black energy erupted at a speed that none of the fighters had seen before. All three of them yelled as the black energy enveloped them and solidified around them, pinning their arms to the side.

Agony looked at the three fighters she now had ensnared in her energy "arms".

"Nighty-night"

Then she slammed the three together all at once, and then hurled them to the ground. Goten got a look of broken conmcrete rapidly rushing up to meet him and then he was knocked silly along with Ubuu and Yamcha. It had happened so fast they hadn't even had a chance to scream.

The blood in the wound had clotted, but it didn't stop the pain. It was still so great that every time Vegeta tried to stand, his eyes crossed and his vision swam.

He had to get up. He had to keep fighting, even if it was hopeless.

His hands sticky with his own blood and his tail slicked with it, Vegeta tried to get up again. Again, the pain was too great, and he fell to one knee.

And then a hand was offered. Surprised, Vegeta looked up. His eyes widened slightly, and then he reached out and took it.

"Kakarotto." He grimaced, looking at Goku as he too stood in SSJ4 form. "It appears I finally beat you in a transformation…not that it matters. How did you achieve it?"

Goku looked at Vegeta as his new tail swished around softly.

"I don't know Vegeta…Gohan was dead…the grief was so strong...and suddenly I had become this…just as it appears you have…in the grief for your family."

Vegeta looked at his lifelong rival, and thought the form, with the fur and the hair and strange red circles around Kakarott's eyes finally made him look like a saiya-jin warrior.

"Kakarott…I can sense…that our powers are about equal…but Agony's is beyond both. She destroyed Japan...or most of it…and all the lives she took gave her a boost. Even with the both of us…I don't know…"

"We can, Vegeta. And I know just how to do it."

Vegeta looked at Goku, and saw the answer to his question in the third-class warrior's eyes. He wasn't surprised. It just might work.

"Kakarott…she took my family…and she took your son…let's show her what happens when you fuck with the saiya-jin race."

Agony landed by the limp bodies of Goten, Ubuu, and Yamcha. They weren't dead, but she was going to fix that.

"NO!"

Agony looked up just as the ki blast hit her in the chest. It left a large hole, but it was quickly healed. Agony smirked at Marron, who stood with her hands out. She'd never thrown a ki blast before, but the knowledge that Goten would be dead soon had motivated her to try.

It had worked. But in the end it had only accomplish one thing.

It had gotten Agony's attention.

"Well, if it isn't the little girl! And the green man!"

Marron stood fast. She was tired of running. Smiling, Agony began to walk over.

"You know, it's really annoying how two of the weakest of this little group that have been bothering me, and yet giving me new powers left and right have somehow managed to escape me! Well, I'm going to deal with that, right now!"

Videl, still slumped behind Marron and Dende, looked up to see Agony approaching. Strangely, she wasn't afraid. Death would only reunite her with the man she loved.

Then she realized Pan was no longer in her arms.

Then she realized that Pan was walking towards Agony. The fear that should have been came on full-force.

"Pan, no!" she tried to scream, but it just came out in a whisper. She got up to chase after her daughter, only to twist her ankle in her blind panic. She fell and tried to scream again, but she couldn't. Her wailings over Gohan had damaged her vocal cords too much.

"Pan…" she raggedly whispered, and began to drag herself towards her daughter, even as the little girl pushed by Marron. Marron was too surprised to grab her, and by the time she realized what was going on, it was too late.

Agony's eyes arched in amusement.

"Well, what have we here?" she said as Pan approached her. This was rich. Kids usually ran screaming from her. This one was giving herself up. It was awfully cynical for a child, and she loved it.

"You killed my daddy."

Something about the voice made Agony uncomfortable. It sounded…_wrong._

"You betcha, sugerplum! He tasted good too!" Agony said, quickly shoving the unpleasent feelings aside. She was probably feeling a little off from going too long without a kill. This little girl would saitisfy those cravings nicely.

"You're a bad lady. You take what people love and destroy it." Pan said. Again, that tone was there. Agony ignored it.

"Oh really kid? Well, if you haven't noticed it yet, you can't do a damn thing about it. That's the problem with all you people who talk about "goodness" and "love" and all that bullshit and how you have to protect it. You're just protecting a corpse! The ideals died long ago when people realized one thing. The people who follow "good" have to follow its rules to the hilt. That's why the world is so fucked up, little girl. People are discovering that what they want, what they crave, comes from telling the rules to go fuck themselves and doing anything you have to. And good people have to try and stop these people, but they have to do it within the rules! Who cares if he's murdered fifty people? He has to have a fair trial! Who cares if he swears he will always kill when he gets the chance? They have to try and rehabilitate him! It's fucking ridiculous! It's like trying to fight a tank with a peashooter, and yet they don't get that they can just throw that shit down and pick up a rocket launcher if they wanted to! But they can't! That wouldn't be "good" now, would it?"

Pan looked emotionlessly at Agony as she drew close, her fingers turning into knives.

Videl's eyes went as wide as possible as she reached out a hand.

Dende turned away. He couldn't save Pan and he didn't want to see the fate she would have.

Marron was frozen on the spot.

"So if people are going to follow those rules, then they only deserve to die when I come along. If they want to keep running into a wall face-first, then I'm just going to let them until they fracture their skull. Humanity, in any world, in any time, have been doomed ever since their sense of self-importence in everything got so much bigger then their brain. I'm surprised they didn't grown another organ just to hold it. Humanity is a waste of tissue, little girl."

She stopped in front of the child. She still wasn't afraid, and that annoyed her, But her death would make up for it.

"You're wrong."

Agony looked at Pan.

"You call humanity a waste. At least they live life for life, whatever their reasons. You live life for death. You think you have everything. You have nothing. You are the waste." Pan said as she raised her hands above her head.

"I loved my daddy."

Then she threw her hands down at Agony.

"MASENKO!"

Marron watched as Pan threw the futile attack. She watched as Agony, looking amused, brought up a hand to block it.

Then the miracle happened.

The attack struck Agony.

But she didn't smile. She didn't laugh. She didn't show any sign of joy.

She yelled and staggered back, holding her hand, which was blistered and burned. She looked at it, breathing hard, almost in amazement, as Pan slowly lowered her hands to her sides.

"It…_hurt_ her." Marron said in amazement. Agony fed on her pain and took pleasure in it, but Pan's Masenko, taught to her by her father, hadn't given her any pleasure.

It had actually _hurt_ her. All the blows all her friends, relatives, and family had inflicted on Agony had just given her strength and pleasure. Pan's attack had done neither. But how…?

Marron would have known if she could read Agony's mind, as she looked down on her burnt hand. She couldn't believe it. It was simply impossible. The little girl had somehow struck her with no rage, no anger, no fury, or anything like that in her heart.

She had been filled with love and the hope she could let her father rest in peace if she did what she had did, and it had come through in the attack.

All the blows Erik had inflicted on her had been with rage and murderous hatred. In a simular way, every single blow she had endured since coming to this world and slowly ascending to godhood had been the same, and that was what made them futile, for as she had said, all rage had to do with inflicting pain, and pain was nothing to her.

But the little girl had struck with love. Agony didn't know how, couldn't concieve how a blow could be struck with love, thought it was impossible that such a blow could be struck. But the girl, through her age, her lack of viewing the bad things in the world, and the honest, uncorrupted desires in her heart, had struck her with love.

Love, as some said, was sweet pain.

And it was the only pain Agony couldn't drag down and devour, because there was so much passion and hope and _goodness_ in it that it made her sick.

As her hand healed (oh yes, she could still do that, but she took no pleasure in it, a first for her), Agony looked up as her lips twisted her mouth into a snarl and her eyes blazed with fury at Pan.

"You MOTHERFUCKING LITTLE _CUNT!"_ she screamed, and threw up her hands as black energy exploded into being on them.

Pan stood, still not afraid, and it made Agony utterly furious. Well, for daring to defy her, and _hurting_ her (how could a little girl hurt a god?), she was going to strip Pan of her skin and everything else, as slowly as possible.

"STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Agony turned around just as the hardest fist she had ever felt slammed into her, carrying her away from the girl, away from the kill _again_, and hurling her into the air in a bleeding twisting sommersault. She slammed on the brakes. One of the fighters she had taken down must have gotten their third wind. Agony snarled. This time, she would make sure it was their _last _wind.

Then her eyes widened. It wasn't any of the fighters she had seen before. And yet he was so…familiar.

"You have commited unspeakable atrocities." The figure said, pointing at Agony. "You have taken countless lives in ways that are abominations in themselves! You have taken the lives of people I love!"

"Oh really, and who are you, vest boy?" Agony smirked.

"I am not Goku. I am not Vegeta. I am the rage of the innocent, the tears of the orphans, the desire for revenge apon your evil black heart!"

"Oh really? That's a long name." Agony chuckled, but the feeling of unease increased.

Then she remembered the purpled-hair pretty boy and his friend, their little dance, and the fighter that had emerged from it.

"Who am I? You may call me…Gogeta!" SSJ4 Gogeta said. "And you may also call me…your destroyer!"

He had to get free. He had to help. He could smell the fresh air, and he knew he was close.

Goten was slowly sitting up as Gogeta darted forward and smashed Agony in the face. She went into the ground, the stone and earth cracking and being thrown into the air as it was displaced.

It didn't take long for Agony to pop back out, and Goten saw that she was actually angry. No, she was _furious_. The game was over, Agony was now playing all her cards.

And after all her victories, it might appear that she finally had a bad hand.

Agony's head darted around, looking for Gogeta.

Then he came down behind her, slamming her back into the ground. She hit and the ground actually _rippled_ outward in a crator shape, the force being so strong the earth had been held in place and kept from cracking.

"You're not worth my time." Gogeta snarled, and then dove into the crator. Goten heard rapid-fire snapping and tearing noises and then limbs began to fly out of the crator, spraying blood. He shook his head as his vision blurred. Agony had really smacked him hard.

"Mommy, are you ok?" Pan asked as her mother finally reached her and grabbed her in a grip of desperate relief.

"Oh thank Dende you're all right." She said.

"I had nothing to do with it. It was your daughter all the way, and she did something that none of us was able to do. She actually hurt Agony. Pan, what…how…?" Dende said, even as explosions erupted behind him as Gogeta and Agony erupted from the crator. Gogeta took advantage of the fact that Agony had to regenerate limbs to fight properly and beat the living crap out of her, ripping parts of her off as fast as she could heal them.

"I don't know Dende…all I could think was that I loved Daddy and that I wanted him to be at peace wherever he was…and that would mean Agony had to be defeated." Pan said, as Agony whipped out her remaining arm and rock shrapnal flew from the ground, pelting Gogeta and putting him on the defensive long enough for Agony to completely fix herself and start whipping black energy spears and long burning whips of dark fire at him. Gogeta countered with ki blasts and arrogant dodging.

"You weren't mad at her?" Dende asked. Gogeta zapped behind Agony as ki swords appeared on his arms and he proceeded to carve Agony up like shis-ke-bob. He tried to burn the pieces to ash, but before he could blink they had zapped back together. Agony had turned her healing ability up to its ultimate level, and thanks to all her new power, that now made it instant. She threw herself at Gogeta and they played a game where each tried to blur away from the other's hits. Gogeta won as Agony tried to fly backward and Gogeta instantly caught up to her, smashing her face in with a spinning air thrust kick.

"She's not worth getting mad over. So I didn't bother." Pan said, looking up as the fighter her grandfather and his rival had become kept kicking Agony all over the ruins of Satan City. Agony was really angry now, even SSJ4 Vegeta hadn't shown her up this badly. She zapped backwards as she threw out her arms and let loose with a gigantic spray of arcing blasts, Kienziens, Finish Busters, and Makkankosappos.

"Oh, I'm impressed! NOT!" Gogeta taunted as he flew in between all the black evil energy attacks and let loose with a furious stream of his own blasts, each one meeting one of Agony's blasts and stopping it. A massive explosion erupted between the two fighters and grew bigger and bigger. The cracking thunder from the battle shook the ground. Goten had managed to get to his feet, and Marron was suddenly again at his side. He held her tight, knowing they were in the final stretch and the race would soon be decided.

"You weren't angry at all." Dende said, in more of a realization then the re-asking of a question.

"Yeah. It's ok Mommy, Daddy will be all right. Grandfather and Uncle Vegeta will beat that bad lady and then we'll just wish him back." Pan said to her mother, who was still holding her in a vise-like grip.

Dende didn't have time to ponder the possible truth in Gohan's ressurection. His mind was racing at his observations and learnings. As quickly as he could, he sent out a mental message.

__

Kaiou-sama! Are you there?

Me and everyone! Even Kaioushin and Emma are watching this battle, it's that important! Please tell me you have good news!

Yes, I do! Listen to me!

Agony was looking at the smoke cloud when Gogeta appeared behind her and slammed into her from behind, sending her back into the ground in a spray of rock. She was quickly on her feet and on the defensive as Gogeta launched a furious assault on her. Agony snarled and bones began to stab from her body where Gogeta was hitting her, but Gogeta was simply too quick and kept aiming for where the bones weren't.

Agony slammed on the brakes as she saw Gogeta wind up for a big punch. When he was in mid-swing, she had bones explode from every part of her body, turning her into some kind of nightmare pincushion. No matter where Gogeta hit, he was going to find something sharp.

Too bad for her that Gogeta turned the punch into a spin and spun around as he brought his hands to his side as he charged a massive blue-gold ki blast. He completed his spin and thrust his hands out into Agony's face.

"FINAL KAMEHAMEHA!"

The explosion was on par with an atomic bomb, with all the destructive power focussed on one small spot. Previous attacks had shook the ground, but this one sent it into the equivilant of an epiletic seizure. All the fighters were tossed off the ground and then rattled around like they were in a blender. The remaining buildings crumpled, unable to hold themselves up any longer.

"Whoa." Goten said, as he finally was able to regain his feet. He helped Marron up as he looked at the massive cloud of black smoke rising from the blast zone. The attack had been amazing, a combination of his father's Kamehameha and Vegeta's Final Flash, both done at SSJ4 level. In a small part in his mind, he wondered what it was like to wield such power.

Then he saw Agony emerge from the mushroom cloud as she flew up into the sky, and that question was replaced with a far more demanding one.

Was it enough?

As Gogeta flew up in front of her, Agony spat blood from her healing gums. This was too much. That last attack had burned her right down to a few cells, far closer then anyone, even Erik, had ever gotten to her death.

She needed more power, and she needed it now.

Her eyes darted around. 

There. She could smell a massive amount of life in the west.

"Ready to die, bitch?" Gogeta asked. He knew he had been close last time, and he would make sure that next time he would win.

Then he saw black energy exploded on Agony's hands as she turned away from him.

The realization hit him like a bullet.

"NO!" 

Too late.

As the blast left Agony's hands it expanded and grew in size and fury. By the time it had burned across the sea it was thousands of miles wide.

A Chinese fisherman looked up from his boat and saw a living wall of black power heading towards him before it struck him, burning away his body and stealing his soul.

Then the power exploded across China, the gigantic killing blast burning a horrendous path straight down the continent, blasting away the crust and everything else like it was nothing. The ghastly blast, as if it was living creature with insatiable bloodthirst, tore through the country of China and left it in utter ruins.

Half of Mongolia went with it, and then the blast ended and detonated in India, blowing the country to hell and gone and taking Nepal, Bangladash, Pakistan, and most of Afghanistan and Iran with it.

In seconds, 750 million people were dead.

And all their souls belonged to Agony.

Agony felt like she was having a seizure, the sheer pleasure was so great. Forget the souls she had stolen from Japan, this was the greatest high, the greatest rush, the greatest thrill she had ever felt.

Gogeta looked at Agony in numb horror. This was…there were no words to describe it. 

"Whoo! What a rush!" Agony whooped. "I want some more of that!"

"NO!" Gogeta said, rushing forward and grabbing Agony, not caring if she tried to impale something through him. Only caring that she had to stop her from causing anything like that to happen again, to keep from hearing hundreds of millions of voices all crying out in a catatomy of pain and horror as their lives were ripped from them and their souls were cast into hell reigned over by an insane lunatic that was pure evil.

"Why do you do this? They all did nothing to you. Why do you do this madness!?!?!?" Gogeta screamed, as Goku's side of the fusion temporarily took full control and made Gogeta ask the question Goku had been asking himself ever since Bra had died. He couldn't stand it any more, this utterly senseless and pointless slaughter. This went beyond revenge, beyond insanity, and even beyond evil, and if he didn't ask Agony face to face he felt the question would tear him apart from the inside.

Agony looked at the fighter with amusement.

Then she slapped him away, and Gogeta felt his jaw wrench painfully. He reeled back, stars exploding in his eyes at the sheer strength of it. The fact that Agony had done all that with just a slap didn't occur to him. He didn't have time to think about her new power. All he could think about was how she had gotten more power, and her utter madness and utter _joy_ in taking it.

And then Agony began to laugh, a horrible laugh, full of pleasure, evil, and worst of all, _self-righteousness_.

"Why? Why?" Agony chuckled, and then raised her hands as black energy crackled on them.

"BECAUSE I _LOVE_ IT!"

And then Agony hurled another black blast into the distance. Gogeta thought for a second and then threw himself in front of it. If he had to sacrifice himself…

But the blast suddenly curved away from him and zapped right by him, and Gogeta could only turn around and scream in helpless horror.

"NO!"

Far away, the island of Austraila got a glimpse of a black terror descending from the sky before all its people died in a massive explosion of black fire which almost seemed to shriek in joy as more hundreds of millions were consumed.

Gogeta turned around as Agony, with a smile in her eyes and on her mouth, raised another hand crackling with black energy.

"STOP IT!"

"Stop it? No way. This is the most fun I've ever had in my life!" Agony laughed, and then hurled another genocide blast.

Russia's center was suddenly consumed in an explosion far worse then any kind of bomb could emit. Black energy tendrils flew from the ground zero and came raining down on Europe and what was left of Asia, blowing everything on the combined massive chunk of land to atoms. Half of England was blown away by one tendril and then a massive tidal wave finished the job, sweeping every other living thing on the ruined island to an airless death.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! OH YEAH!" Agony laughed to the heavens.

That did it. Gogeta flew at Agony. He had to stop her, stop her killing, stop her madness and evil from consuming everything that lived.

Agony looked almost in annoyance and let Gogeta hit heras he drove his fist into her chest.

It didn't even scratch her. She had absorbed far too many souls for that. Even the strongest blow of the fused form of the strongest fighters in existence was little more then an insect bite to her.

Gogeta gasped and then Agony's hand was around his throat in a grip of steel.

"I've grown tired of this."

Agony's fingers snapped into knives, and Gogeta gasped as she carved a bloody X across his chest.

"I've marked my territory. I'll be back for what lies beneath it. You might want to take one last look at the earth, because soon it will just be a lifeless hunk of rock!"

And then Agony hurled Gogeta to the earth. He hit the ground like a meteor and did not move.

Agony could see the fighter's friends, like ants, scurrying to his side. She smiled. One last kick and then she would end it once and for all.

"Father! Oh no! Oh NO!" Goten said in sheer panic. He wasn't dead, but he certainly looked it.

Gogeta's eyes fluttered open, as he looked at all his remaining friends who stood around them.

"Grandfather?" he heard Pan ask.

Then Gogeta could hear no more as his mind finally shut down and he passed out.

Goten gaped and then looked up at Agony. He had been wrong. She may of had a bad hand, but she also had a dozen cards up her sleeves.

And even as the fact that they were all doomed hit him, Agony fired her largest blast yet off into the horizon.

The peaceful, mostly happy inhabitants of South America were all suddenly screaming as one as an unholy flame swept across their country and consumed it. As the country was blasted to hell, the killing, destroying energy swept up onto the United Sates and exploded, devouring every single life in all 50 States. Almost as an afterthought, a few tendrils lanced down and blasted Canada to oblivion as well.

As the earth was ravaged by Agony, gods and guardians of life and death watched in horror around a large desk.

The red-skinned man wearing a business suit looked out the door. Such an insane genocide would have surely resulted in a gigantic stampede of souls. He'd seen it before when Majinn Buu had blown up the earth.

But there was nothing. The line of souls arriving from earth had abruptly ended. They would not be coming to heaven or hell.

Agony had taken them all.

"Tell him, Kaiou-sama."

The insect-like creature that had trained Son Goku turned to the highest god of all the realms. His face had gone pure white.

"Tell Son Goku. I know he can do it. If he doesn't…then we are all dead. All of us…and everything else."

There was no civalization left across the earth. Everything had been utterly destroyed by Agony, and the earth had gone into a frenzy over the damage that had been done to it, as hurricanes, floods, forest fires, and earthquakes erupted across it from her attacks. As the survivors, and there were very few, began to pull themselves from the wreckage, they looked up into the sky and wondered what had happened and why they had deserved this.

Agony landed, absorbing the last few million souls into herself as she did. The group looked at her in horror.

"No more games, no more fighters coming from nowhere, no nothing. The chips are all down and last bets have been taken. I've won." Agony smiled, looking in delight at the terrified men and women before her. "Now, who should I kill first?"

Then her eyes fell on Pan, and she remembered.

"YOU!"

Agony started for Pan.

And then Yamcha was up and leaping for her. But she casually waved her fist and Yamcha was suddenly smacked aside like he had been hit with a giant hammer.

Ubuu went for Agony, his heart full of rage and the will that he would not let Agony kill anyone else, and especially not this sweet little girl.

Agony smacked him aside. His will and rage were nothing compared to her power, an evil power that Goten could feel coming off of her like waves of purest deepest cold.

He leapt for her, going SSJ in mid-leap. Hoping beyond hope.

Then his hope was shattered along with his consciousness as Agony whacked him aside with no effort.

Even though the three fighters before them had failed, Dende and Marron each tried to stop Agony.

They were promptly thrown next to their friends.

Videl tried to use herself as a shield, but Agony just picked the crippled woman up and tossed her up against an exposed rock face.

"Since you mothered the bitch, you can watch her die." She snickered, and then turned to Pan, who had not run away.

And she still wasn't afraid. Agony ground her back teeth. No one lived without fear of her, especially not a little girl.

Pan's expression didn't change as Agony reached down and grabbed her, as her fingers transformed into the most cruelly barbed blades Agony had ever created. This would be truly sweet.

"You're a bad lady." Pan said in an emotional monitone.

"I may be bad, but oh, I feel so good." Agony crooned, and drew back her hand.

From all their positions, Videl, Goten, and all the others eyes widened in horror.

In a place that could be called heaven, a group of higher beings sat or stood in numb shock.

And on the ground, Gogeta stirred and looked up just as Agony brought the blades forward, and while his mind screamed defiance of the act, his body was too rattled to do anything.

Pan closed her eyes.

And then the hook burst from Agony's chest, splattering Pan with her blood before the little girl was torn out of Agony's hands as she was yanked backwards. Pan landed in her rear, her eyes open and wide at the sudden rescue.

Agony was utterly furious as she was yanked backwards. She hit the ground and leapt to her while yanking the hook and the wire attached to it from her chest.

Then she saw the thrower, and the rage faded as her face lit up in the brightest and cruelest smile Goten and everyone else had ever seen.

"Erik." She purred happily.

Goten looked in amazement as the dark warrior from another world withdrew the hook he had used to yank Agony away from Pan. _Incredible. How did he survive the fall and being buried?_

But Erik had, although he was not the worse for wear. His outfit was torn and ripped, charred in several places in which Goten could see nasty burns. Blood ran in a steady stream from the corner of his mouth and a cut on his forehead.

But he was alive. And he had Agony's attention.

"I had a feeling you were here. No matter where I go, you're always nipping at my heels. It was you who fell into that building, wasn't it? But of course you have enough moxie to come here and make me lose my lunch." Agony said with a tad of irritation.

"Forget that appetizer. Why don't you try a main course, _Patricia?"_ Erik snarled at Agony, his reinforced talons ripping from his fingers.

Agony smiled. Goten shook in horror. Erik had spoken of how much he loathed Agony, but Agony wasn't looking at him in loathing. It was more of a look of…_lust._

"Patricia Delhart died a long long time ago, little boy. You know that. Now there is only I, Agony, the Herald of Destruction, Xaxargas's crown jewel, and the new god of existence. And all thanks to you! In trying to kill me, you have granted me godhood!"

For a second, Goten saw the mask of rage, loathing, and bloodlust Erik wore fall briefly as a look of indescriable grief shattered it. But it was quickly gone.

"Come on now, Agony. What's the fun of being able to burn me out of existence by snapping your fingers when you always said you wanted to rip my heart out with your bare hands? Why don't you shelve the god powers for a minute and fight me the way it used to be, so I can rip your heart out and stuff it down your throat!" Erik snarled.

"Oh Erik. So handsome, so persistant, and so horrifically violent. I always liked that in men. Why didn't we ever end up together?" Agony said mockingly.

"Because I loathe you with every part of my heart and soul."

"Oh yeah, I always forget. Well, little boy, get ready to dance, because the band is finally playing the final number."

"Yeah, yours!" Erik yelled, and leapt at Agony.

Goten watched in amazement as the two fell into battle. Goten could sense no massive power coming from Agony now, but he knew it was still there, that she was simply repressing it. The evil was still there though, the daggers of pure cold that stabbed at your being.

In a way, it was like a dance, a dance of blades and fire, of fists and feet, as the two tore into each other. It was a dance of utter hatred, but also a kind of sheer savage _joy_, something the two did so well and so loved to do.

But the mask of hatred never faltered for Erik. But Agony's face went through a gamut of emotions, and one was predominant.

Love.

It only figured that Agony would have a twisted thing for the man who had deticated his life to killing her.

They danced.

They fought.

Blood spilled and bones broke. They healed, or they didn't.

Agony laughed.

Erik screamed in fury.

And the man named Vengeance and the woman named Agony danced, two people on opposite ends of the spectrum, and yet each a side of the same coin.

__

GOKU!

Gogeta jerked his head up as the last of the cobwebs cleared. He'd been trying to get to his feet and keep fighting, and now he finally could.

__

It's Gogeta, Kaiou-sama.

I see. Gogeta then, but you are still Goku! Now you must listen to me!

"I'm listening." Gogeta said, both mentally and actually, as he touched the twin cuts that formed a bloody X on his chest. Agony "marking what was to be hers" or some bullshit. It would go away when the fusion wore off.

God, it seemed like a million years since the two of them had fused, but it had only been something like ten minutes. They still had twenty or so minutes left, and they had to make them count.

__

Gogeta, you can't beat Agony!

"Maybe not, but I'm going to keep fighting until I drop, or she does." Gogeta said as he spat blood and coiled his tail around his waist as he prepared again for battle.

__

No! Listen to me! You couldn't beat her before, and now she's stolen the souls of nearly every being on earth! Over 4.5 billion people are dead, and more are dying all the time! Each soul makes her just a little stronger, and no mattter how many times you match her level, you can't beat her!

"So what should I do? Give up? I don't think so." Gogeta shot back.

__

Listen to me. You cannot defeat Agony with rage or violence! Pan learned this trying to avenge her father! Kaiou-sama said, and told Goku what Dende had told him, how the Kami of Earth had observed how Agony had been hurt through Pan's love for her father.

"So what? Are you suggesting I love Agony and then I can beat her? No fucking way, I could never do that!"

__

No Gogeta, you can't. Only someone with the innocence of a child could do it through their own power, but Pan is far too weak to defeat Agony. But you are too world-weary to be able to wield that power yourself! Neither can Erik, which is why he was never able to kill Agony! Rage, in the ultimate end, is a negative force, and Agony is pure negativity! No matter what you do, you can not win!

"Then what do I do?" Gogeta said, desperation creeping into his voice.

__

YOU cannot, but there is a way. The Genki Dama.

"No, not even that…"

__

I'm NOT FINISHED! Kami, I wish it was just Goku, he never interrupted! You must form a Genki Dama, but a special one. You must not only ask for the energy of all living creature, you must also ask for their emotions, their love, their hope, their goodness. I think it is possible if you ask and they truthfully will the power to you, that this power will fill the Genki Dama. But you MUST ask that the energy you take will be filled with this power, or it will be useless! No matter where, every living being's soul has this power, and you must ask for it! Only all the combined power of this positive force could possibly destroy the massive negative power that Agony has become! It is our last hope!

"But what if they don't listen to me…what if they refuse…and can I even form such a power? The man who could is only half of me." Gogeta said.

__

Gogeta, only a combination of Goku's innocence and Vegeta's strong emotions could ever form such a weapon! Agony is battling Vengeance, hope that he keeps her distracted long enough for you to form this Genki Dama! I have already opened up pathways to the people of earth. They will be able to hear you, just like when you formed the Genki Dama to fight Majinn Buu! Choose your words wisely, and hope that the desperation that surrounds them will allow them to see that this is the right thing!

Gogeta ground his teeth and began to concentrate, and then he slowly raised his hands.

__

People of Earth!

All the watchers of Erik and Agony's battle suddenly snapped their heads upwards to the voice in their heads. Briefly, Gogeta wondered why Agony and Erik hadn't heard it, and then he remembered they came from another Earth entirely.

And in a way, that was good.

Around the world, all the remaining humans who had survived, whether in pain or in sorrow, in anger or is despair, looked up. The voice was calm, soothing, but confident and powerful.

__

People of earth, a great evil power has come to this place, a power far beyond that of Cell! You have seen the destruction this creature had caused firsthand! I am Gogeta, the warrior who will avenge you, but I need your help. If you wish to avenge all your have lost, if you wish for everything that has been taken from you to be given back, then raise your hands to the air and will to me everything you can! Your power, your hope for the future, your love for those you have and for thse who were taken from you, the joy you took in life, the goodness that lies within all your hearts! Give it to me, and I shall smite the doer of this down in revenge for you all!

Gogeta began to concentrate more, and he called out to the group of people who stood in the ruins of Satan City below him.

__

Goten, my son, hold the hand of the woman you love and give me the love you feel for each other! Dende, give me the love you feel for the humans you watch over, the love you had for the friends Agony took from you! Videl and Pan, give me your love of Gohan, for each other, and for everything else. Ubuu, give me the love you have for your teacher, and Yamcha, give me the love you have for your friends who have died in battle. Give me the hope for a future where the sun shines and people can be happy. This power lies within all of you, no matter how wounded your heart! Search for it, find it, and give it to me!

Goten and Marron took each other's hands and raised their arms.

Videl held pan and the two raised their arms.

Dende raised his arms, along with Yamcha and Ubuu.

Far away, Chi-Chi raised her arms and prayed for the safety of the man she loved and her lone remaining son, knowing she could mourn later.

And all around the world, people began to raise their hands, any suspicion or doubt they might have had shoved away by their united and uncontrollable desire to destroy the being who had brought this hell to their lives.

And the ball began to form above Gogeta's head, and blue energy floated from the sky and added to it, making it grow larger and larger. Soon it was the size of a truck, but Gogeta knew it wasn't enough.

And on the ground, Agony and Vengeance continued their war, oblivious to the drama.

"It's working! People are giving Gogeta their power and hope!" Kaiou-sama said.

"It's not enough! We need more power, more emotion! With most of humanity dead, that ball will never destroy Agony!" Emma Daiou said.

"Kaiou-sama, we must call apon others, those who know Goku and would aid him. We need their power, for all their sakes!" Kaioushin said in desperation.

"I figured we would, and I've already started." Kaiou-sama said, as his attenae twitched and his heart tettered on the very last thread of hope he had left.

Far away on New Namek, the Namek species rose as one as a voice came to them, telling them that the man who destroyed Freiza and saved them all from Metal Koola was in trouble and needed their help in a special way.

And as one, the Namek species raised their hands.

On another planet, a species known as the Yardrat were startled out of a peaceful day as a voice came to them, telling them the man they had known as Son Goku needed their help.

And to aid a man who they had called a friend, the Yardrat species raised their hands.

On another planet, a species called the Shamo listened as they were told that the man who had avenged their planet by defeating the Legendary Super Saiya-jin Brolly and given them a new one via the Dragon Balls needed their help.

And they all raised their hands.

And across the universe, planets that lived in peace after the death of Freiza were told that the man who given them that peace now needed their help.

And across the universe, all manners of races and kinds raised their hands and gave all they could to Gogeta.

Gogeta struggled to hold the ball as it grew larger and larger, larger then even the one he had used to defeat Majinn Buu.

__

Kaiou-Sama, should I throw it?

No! It's not enough! They're still sending power, and we need even more!

"Ugh!" Erik yelled as Agony smacked him backward into a rock face. Before he could move she was in his face, pummeling him mercilessly with a speed he had never seen.

"Hey, what happened to fighting fair?" Erik yelled, even as he knew the answer.

"I got tired of it." Agony said, and then smashed her fist into Erik's face in a blow like none other. Erik crumpled at Agony's feet, stars dancing in his vision

Slowly, Agony picked up the body of her worst foe and held him up, smiling.

"The battle is finally over, Erik. You have lost. I've prepared a special place for you inside me, where you will experience all the worse of everything. I've waited so long to do this, _lover."_

Then Erik spat in Agony's face.

"I will never love you, no matter what you do to me!"

And then Erik glanced upward, and saw the ball.

It only took him a second to figure things out, and his eyes slid back to Agony, who had been busy wiping his spit away and hadn't noticed his upward glance.

"If I am to die…then it will be a penance I will gladly pay a million times over!" Erik snarled.

Agony smiled.

"Before you die, there is one last thing I want to do."

Erik's eyes widened. She'd done this once before, when she'd had him at her mercy and failed to take advantage of it, and he never wanted to experience it again, for fear of going mad. He tried to struggle away, but it was like his neck was made of iron.

And then Agony leaned forward and pressed her lips to the man who hated her and who she also hated, but also loved. No one had given her more pain then him.

Erik tried to get away, tried to get away from the ice-cold lips, but he couldn't. His mind spun, whirled, and creaked on its axis, trying to stay together, even as the ball grew larger from the power being given to it.

"Mmmmm." Agony purred, and Erik's mind suddenly cleared long enough for him to act.

He opened his mouth and grabbed her upper lip in his teeth, and he bit down. Hard.

Agony yelled and pulled back, and as blood flowed down her chin, Erik spat the chunk of lip back in her face.

Agony just smiled as her lip healed.

"That was nice. Now, little boy, time to join your family…" Agony began, and then her voice trailed off as something hit her. Erik had said dying would be a penance he would gladly pay, but she knew him, knew he had a survival instinct, and that he wouldn't be so willing to die unless…

…unless…

…he had a plan.

And then Agony finally noticed the blue light that she hadn't noticed before, and she glanced up.

"Shit! She's seen us! I have to throw it!" Gogeta cursed as Agony saw the massive ball of energy glowing above Satan City.

__

NO! You haven't completely gathered all the power from all the other planets! 

"Well, what have we...UGH!" Agony said as Erik tackled her from behind. He tried to hold her down, but it was futile. Agony tossed him off like a rag doll and then stood up.

"Gathering power from other planets. I don't think so!" Agony said. Gogeta's eyes widened in horror. _How the hell did she hear us?_

And then Agony's voice rang in Gogeta's mind.

__

You think, with being a god and all, that I can't read minds? By the way, thanks for all the info on where I need to look!

Gogeta's brow furrowed in confusion. _Need to look?_

And then the air seemed to split beside Agony, and a massive hole suddenly formed. Down on the ground, Erik got to his feet, and looked at the hole.

Beyond it was the dead of space, and a lone green planet.

"Oh KAMI! Agony just ripped a hole in the fabric of time and space! It's impossible! No one can command enough power to do that!" Kaioushin said in horror.

"She did WHAT?" Kaiou-sama said, snapping out of his asking for power to look at the long-haired god.

"She literally warped the laws of matter and physics! Look!"

Kaiou-sama looked, and saw what Erik had seen.

"She opened a hole in the very fabric of being and it comes out across the universe. If anything goes through that hole they'll end up in space above that planet…OH MY GOD!" Kaioushin said as the realization hit him.

The planet they were seeing was New Namek.

Laughing, Agony hurled a massive blast through the hole.

And on New Namek, the Namek species looked up and screamed.

And then their planet was gone, blown to ashes, the species wiped out in a second.

Gogeta felt the lurch as the power he was being given was suddenly cut.

__

GOGETA! OH GOD! SHE JUST DESTROYED NEW NAMEK!

"What? How? Why?" Gogeta said in sick horror, as the meaning of Agony's previous words came to him. Not only had she heard his conversation with Kaiou-sama, she had somehow plucked the location of New Namek from his mind and used that info to destroy it.

__

I don't know how, but she did it…she must know about the power sources! She must be trying to cut them off! Oh god, she's opened up another hole! She's aiming for Yardrat now!

"NO!" Gogeta yelled, but there was nothing he could do.

The species known as the Yardrat saw the awful killing light the Nameks had seen. Some had time to curse cruel fate or make peace with their god. Then, they all died.

And as the Yardrat power source was being cut as their souls were stolen by Agony, Agony laughed and, as the process became easier and easier from her ever growing power, tore open more holes in the air, revealing more planets. She fired blasts through the holes, and suddenly those blasts were above the planets, blowing them all to hell in seconds as Agony completely circumnavigated the problems with distance and speed by defying the laws of reality.

"Stop it!" Erik screamed, as he leapt at her again, but Agony spun and kicked him aside.

"Stop it! No way! There's so many species to wipe out, and so little time!" Agony laughed. With a wave of her hand, several news holes open, and seconds later, tens of billions of species were dead as their planets were destroyed by Agony's unconceivable power.

Goku felt all the power had been gathering get cut off before he could gather it all, as all the species who had banded together to help him were destroyed by Agony for doing so. His heart and mind burned with new rage, and he prepared to throw the Genki Dama.

__

Gogeta, it's not strong enough!

"I DON'T CARE! SHE HAS TO BE STOPPED, NOW!" Gogeta screamed.

And then suddenly, Agony was in front of Gogeta, smiling.

"Go ahead. Throw it at me, monkey boy. You can watch it fail. Those species that tried to help paid the price for defying me, and now they'll keep paying it...for eternity."Agony said as she pointed to her heart, and suddenly Gogeta could hear billions of beings screaming in torture.

"You…monster!"

"Yeah, I am, and I wouldn't dare be anything else. Because in the end, I'm the one who's going to…"

Agony voice suddenly trailed off, and she looked down at herself as confusion crossed both her's and Gogeta's face.

"What the…?" 

And then suddenly it, as a massive blue stream of power exploded from Agony's chest. She screamed in sheer rage and fury as she suddenly fell, clawing at her chest.

"STOP IT! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" she screamed as she fell to earth. Gogeta saw the power coming at him. He tried to move.

Then the power struck the Genki Dama, and Gogeta looked up in amazement as it began to grow again.

Far away, the group of gods and guardians watched in amazement at this new happening.

Agony hit the ground, still screaming and clawing, and leapt to her feet.

"STOP THAT! I AM YOUR GOD AND YOU WILL STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!" she screamed as she tried to block the blue glowing aura that kept coming out of her chest.

Right from where her heart was.

But the power kept coming, and the Genki Dama grew larger and larger, even as Agony tried to stop to stop the influx of goodness.

Down on the ground, the group watched in silence, everyone holding everyone else.

And as Agony screamed, Erik got to his feet and smiled at Agony, a laughing, cruel smile.

"The souls you have taken are rebelling against you Agony. No matter what fate you give them, they've got enough hope that giving all their power will destroy you!"

And it was true. The hundreds apon hundreds of millions Agony had killed, even as their bodies and minds were subjected to pain beyond imagining, kept giving their power to Gogeta.

And the ball grew.

And finally the power stopped, but Agony looked angrier then ever.

"You've failed, Agony. You couldn't reign them in. Just like you won't reign in existence!" Erik snarled, and leapt at her to attack again.

Agony smacked Erik to the ground easily, and picked him up, even as her fingers turned into knives.

"This is your fault, but you won't stop me! I don't care what they give him, I am a god, and if anything else, I am pure _evil_!" Agony yelled, and drove her fingers forward.

And then she screamed as her knife fingers were shattered as Erik intercepted them with his taloned hand. As the blades that had been fingers fell, Erik brought his clawed hand up to Agony's face.

"Speak no evil. Hear no evil. _SEE_ no evil." Erik hissed, and then drove his taloned hand right into Agony's soul shredding eyes. She screamed as they popped like ballons and hurled Erik away as blood poured from her sockets.

And above her, Gogeta felt a sudden flash.

It was done.

Everyone who was watching held their breath as they felt it too.

Gogeta drew in a long slow breath as all of Agony's crimes and atrocities washed over him.

__

For Gohan. For Bra. For EVERYONE.

"AGONY!!!!!!!!"

Agony looked up at Gogeta with her newly healed eyes.

"EAT THIS AND DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And then Gogeta hurled the massive ball of blue power at Agony.

The fighters down on the ground dove for cover as the gigantic ball of energy and hope flew at the demonic malevolence. She looked shocked, and then smiled.

"Oh please." She said, and threw up her hand and almost non-chalentedly threw a blast again it.

It hit the Genki Dama and dissipated. Agony's eyes widened, and she sent a stream of blasts at the ball, all of which vanished as soon as they struck.

"No! This isn't possible!" Agony said as the ball loomed and drew close. Erik looked up from where he lay as the massive wall of blue ki energy came down on him as well.

"DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!" Gogeta screamed.

And then the fusion ended, and Vegeta and Goku were suddenly floating side by side.

Just in time to hear Agony's shriek as the ball came down on her.

Everyone waited.

And then Agony blurred into existence in front of Goku and Vegeta.

Everyone's hearts went to absolute zero.

"Nice try! But all you succeeded in doing was dropping the ball on Erik's head! I decided I didn't want to hang around to watch, so I flew around it."

Goku looked at Agony with dead eyes. They'd done eveything and lost. When she couldn't have beaten it back, she had just flown around the Genki Dama, which had begun to dig into the ground, trying to destroy something that was no longer there.

"Game is over, my friends. In the end, no matter what, it's always just a game to me. And I cheat to win." Agony smirked, as she prepared to kill the saiya-jins once and for all.

"AGONY!"

Agony whirled as she heard the voice from the ground. She looked down as the Genki Dama suddenly rose from the crator that it had been digging into the ground.

Erik stood, holding the massive ball above his head. Somehow he had known that he could, and he had done so. As Goku looked at him, he remembered a question Erik had asked him.

__

Do you see an evil person?

Goku had said no. And he had been right. Only a person with a pure heart could hold a Genki Dama.

"No more games. No more cheating. No more, Agony. Your purgatory is over. GO TO HELL WHERE YOU BELONG!" Erik yelled, and threw the Genki Dama back upward at Agony.

And as Erik hurled the ball upward, Agony's face lit up with a look she had never worn before.

Fear.

She turned to flee, and suddenly she found herself looking right at Vegeta, who cocked back a fist.

"THIS IS FOR MY FAMILY!"

And then Vegeta smashed Agony with everything he had left, sending her flying down into the Genki Dama.

The ball rose upward as Agony flew into it, smashing through its surface like a wrecking ball. Blue lightning began to dance on the ball as its prey entered it.

And suddenly Agony's screams could be heard from the Genki Dama. As they echoed across the landscape, the ball suddenly flew upward, carrying Agony with it off towards the heavens.

Inside the ball, at the heart of the Genki Dama, Agony, surrounded by burning energy, looked at her hand as the power reached down beyond her cells, beyond her atoms, down to the utter core of her evil being. And then it began to pour goodness and love into it, the two sides acting like matter and anti-matter, cancelling each other out.

And as she watched in silence and utter horror, her hand began to dissolve. She tried to heal and found she couldn't, for the only pain that surrounded her was the sweet pain of love.

Agony stared.

And then she threw back her head and began to laugh.

"AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And then the Genki Dama exploded in a gigantic flash of brillance, lighting up the sky like fire and burning away the tremendous evil within it with the power of good as species and people of all kinds banded together and blew the creature known as Agony out of existence.

And as the light faded, Goku and Vegeta flew down to Erik's side as all the survivors of an evil beyond imagining came to them. They all looked at Erik and Dende.

Dende sniffed.

"I can't smell her any more…but Erik, you would know her best. Is she…?"

Erik turned what looked to be the oldest and most weary eyes in the world on the group.

"She's gone. I had a link…and she's gone. She's finally gone…she's dead."

There was silence for a while, and then Yamcha threw up his hand.

"We did it!!!"

And as friends celebrated and lovers kissed, no one noticed Erik as he walked off, trying to struggle with the happenings of the last week. Happenings he was responsible for.

"Kaiou-sama says all the souls Agony took are showing up! They're free from her!" Goku whooped. Yamcha, Ubuu, Pan and Videl cheered, Goten and Marron kissed again, Dende looked relieved, and Vegeta leaned back against the wall, the cocky smirk on his face. Agony was dead, and they could be revived. New Namek and the Namkeian Dragonballs might have been gone, but that could be thought of later.

"We did it Kakkarotto. Hard to believe you could hang with me all this time, but we did it." He said, as his body slid out of the SSJ4 state. Goku watched and followed suit.

"We did it Vegeta…us and Erik…hey, where is he?"

The group looked around, and then Pan made a noise and pointed to where Erik was kneeling, about fifty feet away. Goku walked to his side.

"Hey Erik, we won, what's wrong?"

Erik couldn't tell Goku, would never be able to bring the words from his throat. 

Agony's death scream hadn't been of fear, or of pain, or of any of the horror she had inflicted apon this world.

It had been a scream of complete and utter exctasy.

Slowly, Erik lowered his head, and Goku understood. He knelt by Erik and held him by his shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself. You didn't know."

"It's like she said, Goku. It's all a game. I rolled the dice…and this was my loss. All these deaths are on my head…but I'll make it right…if I have to search for eternity to find a way…I'll make it right."

And as the group gathered around Erik, Erik let a hand fall to the ground.

And red bubbled between his fingers, emissions from an earth soaked with the blood of innocents.

__

To Be Concluded

Editor's Note: I'm not done yet! But I took an extra long time to get this chapter just right, so why don't you write me an extra-long review, if you have the time. Please?


	8. Supreme Sacrifice

Chapter 8
    
    Son Goku stood in front of the Dragonballs, thinking the events of the past week over. It had been the hardest time in his life, but the light at the end of the tunnel was finally there, and everything could be made right.

It had been Kaioushin who had brought them the balls, appearing with them minutes after Agony had been defeated, once and for all. It had scared the hell out of most of them, thinking it was Agony returning somehow. He had left shortly afterward, saying that bringing them the balls would hopefully make up for the fact that he could do nothing in the battle with Agony. But it was good enough.

And now it was time, as the remaining survivors stood on the hillside where they had flown to summon Shen Long. The destruction of New Namek and the loss of their Dragonballs would make the wish that Son Goku wanted to make even harder, but he had hope that it would work. Indeed, it had been hope that had held them all through the horror of Agony.

He glanced around at the said survivors. Goten and Marron hadn't spent more then a minute apart after the terrible test that Agony had made them do, and even now they stood, holding each other. Nearby stood Chi-Chi, who Goku had fetched so she could witness this, and who was helping support a grief-weakened Videl, while Pan clung to her mother's knees. Dende stood alone, although close to Yamcha and Ubuu so that the image of true solitude was not there. Vegeta was also alone, but he stood admist the group so the image did not present itself with him either. The only one who gave the image of true solitude was Erik, who stood away from the DBZ group, his arms crossed and his eyes downcast, not looking at Goku's ritual but instead into himself. Goku knew Erik's mind was still turning everything over, and that he still held himself responsable for Agony's massacres.

Goku crossed mental fingers and hoped this would allow him to see Erik smile for the very first time.

"Come out, Shen Long, and grant my wish!"

The sky darkened and electricity crackled as the massive form of the Eternal Dragon of Earth formed in front of the group. Erik looked impressed, but it faded quickly.

"Son Goku. It is good to see you again. Tell me your wish, and if it is in my power, I will grant it." Shen Long said. He had grown fond of the man who had called him so often and yet never had a selfish desire in his heart.

"Great Shen Long, do you know of what has happened?" Goku asked.

"Yes. I know of the monster named Agony and her destruction. I will do anything within my power to undo what she has done."

"Then I wish that everything that she has destroyed be restored, now!"

Shen Long was silent.

"I am sorry, that is beyond my power. Perhaps my brother Poranga could have granted such a great wish…but I cannot."

Goku's face fell. But he pushed his sadness aside and quickly considered other options.

"Then I wish that New Namek be restored with its people!"

Shen Long was silent, and again Goku's face fell.

"I am sorry, but that is also beyond my power. I have already wished back the Namek people from death once, I cannot restore the planet and do it again."

"Then I wish that all the people of Earth that were killed by Agony be brought back!" Son Goku said, his hope starting to slide.

Shen Long was silent.

"Great Shen Long, you cannot do this wish too?"

Shen Long lowered his head.

"No."

"BULLSHIT!" Vegeta suddenly screamed. "I've seen you wish back multiple people before, lots of them at onnce, so do it now before I…I…" Vegeta trailed off. Hurting the dragon would solve nothing. The rage in his heart began to be replaced by a feeling that he would never see his family again.

"Vegeta…I can wish back one, dozens, hundreds, thousands, even millions…but it is beyond my power to wish back billions. The power needed to restore each and every life, each different, each marked by individuality…is something I do not possess. Indeed, Poranga was barely able to do it, and he is gone. I am sorry. I have seen the horror Agony caused, but I do not know if the Balls that summon me have the power to undo it." The dragon said sadly.

"Then I wish to know if there is a power, of other Dragonballs or anything, that can bring back all we have lost!" Goku said, desperation creeping into his voice. The same desperation was washing over the faces of all the people gathered. After coming this far, it couldn't end like this. It wasn't right.

"I do not have that knowledge, Son Goku. I cannot grant that wish. I wish I could."

Murmurs began to break out among the group on what to do.

Then suddenly Erik stepped between the fighters and stood before Shen Long.

"Shen Long."

The gigantic dragon turned his head to look at the dark warrior.

"Yes. You are the one from another world, the one they call Vengeance. You aided in saving my planet and I thank you for it. What do you wish to know?" Shen Long said. Goku looked quizzingly at Erik, puzzling over what he was going to do.

"You claim your inability to grant these wishes is the fact that the power to restore people is difficult or impossible due to their individuality."

"Yes. When bringing people back I must make sure nothing is lost in the transferance from death back to life, and since everyone is different, it can be of great strain. Plus, I cannot wish back people who have been wished back before, and many people who died at Agony's hands have been revived by me. I feel great sorrow, but there is nothing I can do."

"No."

Shen Long looked at Erik, who had lowered his head. For a second he appeared to be thinking, and then he looked up at the dragon once more.

"Shen Long, is it possible that you can change one small individual act?"

The group looked at Erik in confusion. What was he talking about?

"It is possible…although there are limits."

"Shen Long, I must know. Could you change just one small act, one thing, but something that happened in the past and in another world? Is this in your power?"

Shen Long looked at Erik, and Chi-Chi and co could see he was thinking it over.

"It may…just be…but I must know the wish."

"Then I wish that a week ago, in the factory where I fought Agony, that I threw her into the machine instead of into the reality-rip that brought her here."

There was silence.

"Can you do this?" Erik said.

The group stared, trying to figure out just what the hell Erik was asking for. Vegeta took a step forward, trying to figure out if Erik was wasting the wish and planning to take action if he was.

"I…don't know. I will have to gather my power and see." Shen Long said, and closed his eyes.

Erik turned as Goku came up behind him.

"Erik, what are you doing?"

"I threw Agony to this world while trying to destroy her. I caused all this. And now I am going to pay the penance for it. If Shen Long can do this wish…and make this change…then I will have never tossed Agony to the rip, she will have never come here, and none of this will have happened. Everything will be restored, the way it should be."

The meaning hit everyone like a sledgehammer.

"But that means…" Goku gasped in shock and horror.

"…that Agony will still be alive. I know, Goku. But she will be locked away in my world, with no way to get here and back to the power she had before she came here. She will have never come here, she will never know that this world exists and what she did in it, but she also will have never died."

Goku reached forward and grabbed Erik's shoulders.

"No Erik! I won't let you do this! We'll find some way to fix everything, find a wish, new dragonballs, a new power, anything, but I will not let you do this! I won't let you bring Agony back, even to bring back everything we lost!"

"I agree." Vegeta said quietly, stepping forward. "I have lost my family, but Agony alive again, in any world, I will not allow it."

"Yes!" Goten said. "Even if my brother, and Trunks, and everyone else comes back, I will not let you make a sacrifice like this! You don't deserve it!"

Slowly, everyone sided with Goku, Vegeta, and Goten.

"Erik, you are not at fault here. Don't bring Agony back to your world, don't inflict her on your life, the life of those you care about, the life of your people…" Goku trailed off.

Erik was silent, and then he took Goku's hand, which still rested on his shoulders.

"Goku…I made a mistake. I won't risk the possibility that Vegeta could be alone for the rest of his life, due to a wish that cannot be made. I won't allow the possibility that Marron won't have her parents around to see her get married. I won't allow Videl to be a single mom, and I won't allow people to try and live on this destroyed planet. I swore I would always help people who needed help and couldn't find it, that I wouldn't allow the little guy to be stepped on. I forgot that vow, I put my own hatred ahead of my promise I made on my parent's grave, and this is what happened. I must pay the penance for my sin."

"You commited no sin! You made a mistake! That's what makes people human, they make errors! You have no penance to pay!" Goku said.

"Yes I do, Son Goku. And I will pay it, a million times over if I must. If I must bring Agony back, if I must let her loose again on my world in order to take back what I did to yours…if she kills again…whether it be a stranger, or someone I care about…I will do it without batting an eye. I had no right to bring her here. And for your world, and your future, I will sacrifice any future I might have without Agony."

Then Erik let go of Son's Goku's hand as he stepped back. Goku stood, his hands out in helpless horror, amazement, and sadness.

"Erik…"

"I swore I would protect people. I failed. Now I will make it right." Erik said as he turned back to Shen Long.

"It is possible, Erik Damien Ravensky. I can grant your wish. Do you still wish it?" Shen Long asked.

"ERIK, NO!" Goku screamed.

"I do."

Marron was never sure what happened. She saw Erik speak, and suddenly she was surrounded by blue swirling energy, a force that was powerful and yet peaceful. It swirled her hair and ruffled her clothing as she looked around in amazement with everyone else.

"Erik…oh kami…what is this?" Goku said to the back of Erik. Erik turned around.

"I never thought I would see something like this…it's a temporal storm. The past has been changed and now the future will change with it…right before your eyes."

Erik pointed off in the distance.

"Look."

Goku looked.

In the distance, the blackened spot where Satan City had once stood was gone, as buildings that had been destroyed, crushed, or vaporized rebuilt themselves. Highways and streets came back together, crushed cars were suddenly back to normal, and people who had laid dead suddenly got up and kept walking as their clothes and anything else they had on them was suddenly as it was to have been, in a future that would have existed without Agony and a future that was now being shaped.

"It's beautiful…" Marron whispered, holding on to Goten. She looked up and gasped. A long cut on his face, inflicted during the final battle, was disappearing, sealing itself like glue. Goten looked shocked and felt his cheek. It was flawless, as if he had never been cut.

Vegeta looked and found his shoulder wound was gone, as if it never was. Everyone gasped as injuries vanished, because now they had never happened.

And around the world everything began to come back. Blackened ground came back together and sprouted the grass, flowers, and other plants that had been growing there. Rivers, mountains, cities, forests, and everything else went back to the way it had been, rebuilding itself.

New Namek came back together from its ashes, even as all the other planets did. And the inhabitants found themselves alive again, as it should have been.

And Goku looked at all this in joy, but also in sadness, and then he turned back to Erik. His gasp drew the attention of the whole group.

Erik was glowing a soft white colour, which was slowly building. 

"Erik…?" Goku began.

"I will be going now Goku, back to my world, a world I never left now, back to the moment where I made my new decision, back to a new time in which Agony never came here. I will make sure that the machine that caused the rip is destroyed, so that Agony or no one will ever find a way back here."

Erik looked to Satan City as it continued to rebuild itself. Off in the distance, the place where Gohan's body lay stirred, and suddenly Gohan opened his eyes and breathed as his heart and spine regenerated, for they had never been removed and he had never died.

"I don't know if this change will cause you to forget what had happened, if you will remember the events of the last week, or if they will be replaced with new memories. But I hope you remember…if only so that you will remember what I said now."

Erik looked over to Goten and Marron.

"Goten…Marron…as you have seen…life can be random…it is best not to wait…because if you do…what you want…could suddenly vanish…just like I will. But as long as you have each other…you can endure anything."

Erik then looked at Vegeta, who stood with a strange mix of cockiness, confusion, and thanks on his face.

"Vegeta…there is no beast that never cried…or cries."

Erik's eyes passed to every other person in the group.

"Everyone else…I have no advice but to life your life to the fullest, and don't let little things drag you down…because there are far worse things that can happen."

And finally, Erik turned back to Goku.

"Goku…"

And then Goku blinked in surprise as Erik suddenly brought his hands together and leaned forward in a bow of respect.

"Goku…oh how I wish I could have know someone like you in my world. It might have given me hope for the future of my people, my world, and my existence. But I know that as long as someone with the mind, the heart, the soul, and the experience of an adult can still look through the eyes of a child…can still hold that innocence, that unselfish love and true feelings of hope…then there will always be hope, no matter where, when or who. Thank you Son Goku. I will always remember you and what you have taught me."

The glow had kept growing, to the point where Erik was practically a silhoulette of light, but Goku could still see his face as Erik smiled, a smile of warmth, friendship, and of no regrets.

"Goodbye, my friends."

And then Erik was gone.

"DIE, YOU BITCH!" Erik screamed as he lifted Agony above his head, aiming for the strange hole that had opened up in mid-air from the overloading machine.

He reared back his arms.

And then suddenly something flashed in his eyes, like a wealth of knowledge given in a split second.

And then Erik turned and hurled Agony against the computer console, which she crashed into with a scream. She was consumed by sparks as Erik brought up his hand, his finger talons slick with her blood and wanting to spill more.

Behind Erik, the hole squirmed and then fell into itself, vanishing into nothingness.

"I'm not impressed, little boy." Agony smirked as she pulled herself up, her wounds already gone. "Did you actually think that little throw could KILL ME?" she screamed as she leapt forward, her hands turning into blades Erik was all too familiar with.

Erik didn't move, but instead thrust his hand up as his claws punched through Agony's chest and through her heart, a heart that still had the souls of thousands but would never have the souls of billions like it had been once, but now would not be.

And then he used Agony's own momentum to hurl her straight into the machine, which was reaching critical mass, for Erik had never shut it down.

And then it went beyond retrieval as Erik's arm transformed itself into a rocket launcher and he lauched several missiles into the side of the machine. As it prepared to explode, Erik looked at where Agony lay, her wounds healing, but back to the slow healing it had been before, a healing power that was still great but no longer instantaneous due to absorbed souls and the power she had stolen from them.

"No Agony, I didn't. But I know there's a way now, and I will find it."

And then Erik fled the factory, running out the door and into the dead of night as Agony looked up with a restored face right into a generator that was in the midst of overloading.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

And then the machine exploded in her face, consuming Agony in flames before she was buried under hundreds of tons of concrete and steel, a way to another world gone and never to be discovered.

The blue energy was gone, and the Z Fighters looked around, as if in dumb amazement.

"The wish has been granted. Farewell." Shen Long said, and vanished, the Dragon Balls turning into stone and flying off to the new corners they would rest in until they were needed again.

"Oh Erik…" Goku said. He remembered, he still remembered all that had happened, and he still knew of what Erik had done for them.

Then his head perked up as a ki he was all too familiar with came to his attention, and his heart leapt. Could it be…?

"Toussan!"

Gohan landed next to the fighters, who stared at him in numb shock.

"What?" he said, looking in confusion.

"DADDY!" Pan cried, running to her father and jumping into his arms even as she burst into tears. Gohan's surprised look got even bigger as Videl quickly joined her daughter, clutching her husband as if she never planned on letting go. Then they were nearly all crushed as Goku added his arms to the hug.

"OK! OK! TIME OUT! TIME OUT!" Gohan said, managing to pry himself free. "Damn! I know I'm popular, but geez, it's not like I died or something!"

Gohan's eyes grew apprehensive of the looks that followed, and he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"What?"

"Oh Gohan…" Videl said, grabbing hold of her husband again. "Don't you remember?"

"Remember...damn, come to think of it…I can't remember anything! I can remember finishing up my Tatos project, going to bed, then waking up in Satan City and knowing I had to come here…I can't remember anything in between!"

Goku stared.

"Father finished that project eight days ago…and he doesn't remember anything else…" Pan said.

"Whoa, whoa, ok, what did I miss? What's the big secret?" Gohan said. The only response was for Goten to detach himself from Marron and be the next one to give his older brother a hug.

"It's a long and incredibly hard to believe story, older brother, and maybe you would be better off never knowing…but we will tell you anyway. But let me tell you…"

And then Goten's words were cut off by another shriek.

"MOMMA! POPPA!"

Goten turned to see a very surprised Krillian and Eighteen get practically attacked by their daughter as she leapt into their arms. Goten smiled. He could only imagine their confusion, but they would work it all out, as Eighteen tried to get some info out of their daughter, who couldn't stop holding them and sobbing with joy.

The reunion only increased, as Tien, Chaozu, and Lunch showed up, confused on why something had called them to this spot and even more surprised at the joy in their arrival. Then it was Piccolo, who was lugging Mr. Popo, Karin, and Yajirobie with him and cursing that when he found out why he was being dragged to this spot and he had to bring all of them with him someone was going to get hurt. Goku didn't know if Dende's joy in seeing him and his friends back made him feel any better.

"Ok, ok, Son, what is going on here? And why is it I can't remember anything that happened since I went to sleep…god, how long has it been? It feels like a week!" Piccolo cursed, adjusting his turban.

Goku smiled.

"I'll tell you Piccolo, as soon as…hey, where are they?"

In all the joy, no one had noticed the absence of a certain three people. No one except the one who missed them the most.

Vegeta stood away from the group, seemingly immune to the joy, looking around with hard eyes, waiting.

But there was no one.

Goku's heart sank.

"No…it's not possible…they couldn't have been skipped in some way…is there?" Goku said.

The same thought was occuring to Vegeta, and once again the daggers of despair and lonliness began to stab at his heart.

He lowered his head.

"No…I don't want to be alone…" he whispered, as twin tears began to form in his eyes.

And then there was a sudden whooshing of air and Trunks landed in front of his father, setting down his mother and little sister as he did.

"Hey, Toussan!"

Vegeta looked up.

And the tears did slid down his cheeks, but for a whole new purpose.

In all his time, Trunks couldn't remember being hugged by his father too many times, and never this hard and violently. Of all the surprises, the Briefs family perhaps had the strongest of them.

"Toussan…you're…you're crying." Trunks said in amazement.

"Are you alright, Vegeta?" Bulma, a Bulma that had never seen her daughter's dead body, had never become catatonic, a Bulma that had never died for a mind trick of a demon.

Vegeta could only sniff and keep holding. He knew it was an affront to his royal roots and his saiya-jin roots and all his other roots but he didn't care. They had never given him the joy the three people he now held had.

"Daddy, are you ok?" Bra said.

Vegeta looked down as his daughter, her innocent eyes and wide smile, ones that had never been destroyed by a woman looking to eat her heart.

"Yes, princess. I'm fine. I'm better then fine. I'm better then I ever have been." Vegeta said, stroking his daughter's cheek.

All the fighters and people stood or sat in silence as Goku completed the tale of Agony and Vengeance, what had happened and all that had been, and now no longer was thanks to the wish of a man from another world.

"God…even you telling it toussan…you, who never lies, I can't believe it." Gohan said.

"I don't blame you bro. I can't believe it either, and I was there." Goten said, as he sat on a couch with Marron, Krillian, and Eighteen.

"Yes, but what of the world? All the people are back…and I'm sure they're just as confused as we are on what happened. And then there are the people who were still alive and would remember. If word gets out, it could cause a panic." Yamcha said.

Bulma stood and pulled out a cell phone.

"I'll get right on it. Capsole Corp will help us, we'll concoct some kind of story for the media to tell the people, an alien attack, anything to make people think they just imagined it all. We can handle the knowledge of what happened, I know I can, but I don't know about them." Bulma said, as she began to push buttons.

"It's hard to believe I died…that we all died…so horribly…that a woman of such evil could exist…and what Erik did…to bring us all back. It's just…beyond my ability to comprehend." Gohan said.

Suddenly, Pan was sitting in her father's lap.

"Then don't try Daddy. You're back. That's all that matters."

Gohan smiled and stroked his daughter's hair.

"Yes honey, I suppose you're right."

"And Daddy, I want to ask you something."

"Yes honey?"

"What's a cunt?"

Everything had been brought back to normal, a time of peace, where the sun shined.

But for some, the knowledge remained, knowledge they knew was true, knew that it wasn't really a gas that had gotten out of control and spread across the world, causing short comas, amnesia, and hallocinations so vivid they seemed like they really happened. The story was flimsy, flawed, even ludicrous, but people accepted it. For just like people are glad that certain things should not fortell what is to happen, they are also glad to accept some things never happened, even if there is proof they did.

But some knew the truth.

Some did not care, as Tien, Chaozu, and Lunch laughed around a fire, Tien with his arm around the woman he loved, or Gohan swinging his daughter on a swing in a park even as he cursed Agony for using such language in front of her. They celebrated their salvation instead of dwelling on the truth.

Some who could have been gods, like Piccolo, as he mediated by a waterfall and turned what had once been over in his head over and over, trying to make sense of it, looked for answers.

Some were gods, like Dende, as he stood on the edge of Kami Tower, Mr.Popo by his side and a smile of friendship on his face, who had no answers to give.

And some looked at the truth, like Son Goku, and were humbled by it.

Son Goku looked at the setting sun, which spread a magnificent beauty across the lake he sat in front of. He had told Chi-Chi he was going fishing, but in reality he was thinking over the last words Erik had said to him before he left.

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Thank you Son Goku. I will always remember you and what you have taught me.

"Erik." Goku said to himself. "You were the teacher. You made me remember that a person should not be jugded on what he does, whether it is mass murder or sainthood, but on what truly lies in their heart. You had goodness so great you could hold a Genki Dama…and a spirit so noble you willingly brought Agony back to your world so that ours could be made right."

Goku smiled. Erik may have worn black, but if Goku could have seen his heart, he was sure he would have seen something shining and white, like a star in the sky.

"Thank _you,_ Erik. From the bottom of my heart. You claim you would sacrifice your future for us…may you have one, and one far greater then you could ever dream of."

Goten and Marron were also watching the setting sun, once again of the roof of Marron's house, as Goten strummed on his guitar, a guitar that had never been shredded by claws of black energy. Marron lay against him, listening, and her question of commitment not gone but no longer important. She'd seen all the truth she needed in Goten's eyes when he'd tricked Agony to save her.

"Marron?"

"Yes, Goten?"

Goten didn't answer. Instead he stood up, looking off into the sky, before turning around. Marron quickly stood up beside him, her eyes curious.

"I've been thinking of your question about moving in together." Goten said. Marron's cheeks coloured slightly.

"Oh Goten…that was another girl…one who thought…god, I don't even remember what she was thinking anymore…"

"That's not good enough."

Marron stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes wide at what Goten had said and what it could mean.

"During all we saw…the death…the horror…the sacrifice…and the joy…I was asking myself a question. I didn't reveal it to you, but I was still asking it. And I know now."

Goten turned around, his eyes full of love, and he took Marron's hand.

"I want to be with you…my whole life…through everything we could possibly face."

Marron's mouth opened slightly and she made a noise of surprised joy and amazement as Goten got down on one knee, revealing he had turned away from her to secretly remove a box from his guitar, a small velvet covered box which he now opened to reveal a diamond ring.

"Marron…will you marry me?"

Marron blinked as tears, tears of joy, the reason tears should be shed, sprung to her eyes.

"Yes. Oh Goten, yes."

Goten smiled, and slowly placed the ring on her finger, just as Marron had always dreamed it. But this was better then any dream she could have had as the man she loved stood to face her again.

"I love you, Marron."

"I love you too, Son Goten." Marron replied.

And as their bodies came together and their lips met, Eighteen looked down at her husband and smiled, as the three of them sat on a rock, watching.

"Our daughter is going to be a bride." She smiled.

"She couldn't ask for a better man." Krillian replied, holding his wife's hand as their wedding bands glittered in the sun's setting light.

"You raised a good one sis." Seventeen said, as he crossed his arms and looked over to his sister. Eighteen looked back and smiled again.

"I know, brother. I know that best of all."

And on a cliff where he had once planned to take his life, Vegeta stood and watched the sunset himself. Like his great rival, and a man that maybe, for once, he could call friend, his mind was consumed with thought. But it was thought that was different.

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Would Kakkarott wish me back, if doing so brought back Freiza? Would Gohan have revived Cell to bring back the future version of my son? Would they or someone else bring me back, or Trunks, or anyone, if Majinn Buu was once again given life and a chance to wreck havoc?

"Toussan!"

Vegeta was startled out of his thoughts as his son landed next to him.

"Hey Toussan, you never struck me as a sunset kind of person." Trunks joked, trying to rile his father up. He looked so serious, and that usually did not mean something good.

"I can appreciate beauty just as well as anyone. God, why did I get such a baka for a son?" Vegeta said in mock regret. Trunks smirked. He might not have been able to annoy his father as much as he could when he was young, but he still had the touch.

"Daddy!" Came Bra's voice, and then she was at her father's side. Laughing, Vegeta reached down and swung her up on his shoulder.

"It's so pretty!" Bra squeeled.

"It is, isn't it?" Bulma said, as she joined her family. "But what's so special about this cliffside, Vegeta?"

"Maybe someday I'll tell you, Bulma."

Bulma's eyes arched in surprise.

"Bulma? What happened to "woman"?"

"I got tired of it, so I'll call you by your real name until I can think of something more insulting."

Bulma smiled and wrapped her arms arounds her husband's right arm. Usually Vegeta shrank away from such touching, but this time he reached over and held her.

Perhaps someday he could tell them that the reason this cliff was so special was because it was the one he had planned to stab himself in the heart and pitch himself into the ocean on, the one that symbolized how much he needed the ones he loved.

But as Vegeta stood there was all he cherished and loved, his mind was occupied with another thought.

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Erik…you might have been weaker then me…fought cheap…caused all the tragedy I endured in one way…but you took it all back…and willingly inflicted a nightmare on your life and your world to make mine right again. You might have been weak…but you are the greatest warrior, and perhaps the greatest man, that I have ever known.

There was no sunset for Erik, only the light of a dead moon that shone on him and illuminated him as he stood, crouched over on the edge of an old building. He looked like a living gargoyle, for he sat so still, absorbed in his own thoughts. 

Off in the distance, the Starfire, the special airship that the Legacy owned, sat quietly in a field, set down for the night. Erik had made his way from the destruction of the factory to the ship, met with his comrades, given them information on his battle with Agony, and then walked off to be alone.

He did not tell them of the other world, the other existence, that he had visited, of what had happened there, and that for a short time, Agony, the woman who had taken nearly everything from him, had been dead.

And as he thought it over, he knew he had no regrets.

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I can't bring back the lives Agony took in this world…but I could bring back the lives she took there, lives that I gave to her in a moment of selfishness, and that makes it all worthwhile. She'll be humilated from this small defeat, crawl off in a dark corner to lick her wounds before she strikes again, and when she does, I'll be there. I saw her die. If it could be done there, it can be done here. I may not be able to form a weapon of hope and love, indeed, I don't know if I can even feel love any more…but I made a promise. And I will find a way to defeat her. And kill her. For eternity.

"Erik!"

Erik was startled from his mental musings by a female voice, but not of Agony's. Indeed, it was as far away from Agony's as possible. He stood up and turned around.

"Hello, Christine."

Christine Merseric, perhaps the only member of the Legacy he called friend, stood before him. She had taken off her armour for a more casual outfit of jeans and a shirt, indeed, such clashing fashions were quite common in this world, where one might find a village from the Dark Ages at one mile and find a city out of Star Trek the next. Xaxargas had done this, and while it was strange, it made Erik's world unique.

"You left so quickly. Is there something wrong, Erik?" Christine said. Erik turned back to the moon. Why Christine was sweet on him, Erik had never found out. But he was glad she was. In a way, she made the hell he endured liveble. In a way, he had loved her, still did, but he had no desire in having her. He didn't feel that way, and she had found her own soulmate in the leader of the Legacy, the man who had defeated Xaxargas, the god who had twisted this world into the way it was and the being that had created Agony, Ash Merseric. Erik was happy for them. They truly loved each other, and were happiest when together. If that was Christine's choice, Erik would allow it, but if Ash ever hurt her, although Erik doubted it severely, he would pay the price.

"No Chris. Nothing's wrong. Nothing you can help. I'm just living my life...one day at a time…hunting for answers that might not exist…things that may never be."

There was silence, and then Christine's hand was on his shoulder.

"Don't talk like that Erik. You're one of the noblest souls I have ever known. If anyone deserves love, happiness, anything…it's you, my friend."

Erik smiled.

"Thank you Chris. But you should concern yourself with your future, with Ash. I may have no future."

"Bullshit Erik. One day you're going to find what you want. Carrying the world on your shoulders, sacrificing anything without a second thought for a greater cause…the powers that be can be cruel and hard, you know that all too well, but they can also grant you your dreams. Never lose hope Erik. That is the strongest thing of all. Hope."

"I know Chris. I know that now, truly." _And perhaps someday, I'll tell you about the man named Son Goku and how he made me know this was true._

Erik turned, squeezed Christine's shoulder, and began walking across the roof. The building was on the edge of one of the larger and more technologically advanced cities that existed in this version of Earth, and the way Erik was heading made it clear he was heading into it.

"Erik? It's late. You should come back, get some sleep." Christine said, already knowing her words were futile.

"I don't need sleep, Christine. This is the time when they are out. The Corrupt, seeking to destroy, in whatever way they desire. As long as I draw breath, this will not be allowed. I swore it. Love, peace, happiness, they will come eventually, or they may never come. I don't know. But all I know is that the Hunt is on, and that somewhere, I am needed."

And with that Erik was gone, swallowed by the shadows, the master of his domain. Christine looked after him.

"Erik…my friend. I know it and I hope you do too. Sacrifices, like the ones you make…you will be rewarded. Maybe someday you will kill Agony, and claim the vengeance you named yourself after, for you and for your family. And I know there is someone out there for you, someone who will love you in a way I can't. Erik Damien Ravensky…Vengeance…you will reap what you have sowed, and the harvest will be bountiful."

Christine turned to leave, casting one last smile at the dark Erik had vanished into.

"Happy hunting."

And somewhere else, a hand burst from a giant pile of burnt concrete and smoking, twisted steel, a hand that was part flesh and part bone where flesh had been ripped away, flesh that was already re-appearing via a power that was pure evil.

And the peace of the night was shattered by a laugh of evil and all-consuming madness.

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The End

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(Limp Bizket's song "I Know Why You Wanna Hate Me" starts up as the words appear like credits)

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Consuming Madness

Cast

Starring

Son Goku as Son Goku

Vegeta Breifs as Vegeta Briefs

Son Goten as Son Goten

Trunks Briefs as Trunks Briefs

Bra Briefs as Bra Briefs

Bulma Briefs as Bulma Briefs

Son Gohan as Son Gohan

Marron as Marron

Krillian as Krillian

Eighteen as Eighteen

Piccolo as Piccolo

Dende as Dende

Ubuu as Ubuu

Chi-Chi as Chi-Chi

Videl as Videl

Pan as Pan

Yamcha as Yamcha

Tien as Tien

Chaozu as Chaozu

Lunch as Lunch

Kaiou-sama as Kaiou-sama

Kaioushin as Kaioushin

Emma Daiou as Emma Daiou

Mr. Popo as Mr.Popo

Gotenks as Gotenks

Gogeta as Gogeta

Erik Damien Ravensky as Vengeance

AND

Patricia Delhart as Agony

Mentionables

"Oops, I Did It Again." by Britney Spears

"It's My Life" by Jon Bon Jovi

"The Real Slim Shady" by Eminen

"American Pie" by Madonna

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss

Nursery Rhymes by Mother Goose

The Legacy by Ash The Wanderer

AND

Dragon Ball Z by Akira Toriyama

All Rights Reserved. No Money has been made off any of these.

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Conceived By

Ash The Wanderer

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Written By

Ash The Wanderer

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Special Thanks

Akira Toriyama

Stephen King

Wes Craven

And

You, the readers.

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And so it comes to an end. If you can, write me a nice long review telling me what you thought of the final chpater, favorite part, favorite line, favorite anything, and then rank my story if you can. Until next fic, I am Eric Mersereau, aka Ash The Wanderer. Good night.


End file.
